Troy
by WritingwithGusto
Summary: The world works in mysterious ways. But taking a teenager from the human world to a world of dinosaurs seemed impossible. And what it would have taken the human months to comprehend, it took the mind of a dinosaur for him to truly understand. (Rated T cause I'm paranoid. Rating may change later).
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Stone of Cold Fire

 **Hey everyone! Gusto here! And this is a self insertion and an AU fanfic. This is one of two, and the other also is an Anthro fic. You can read either one if you want to, but if you're on this one, then I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

My day started off like any other. I woke up, ate breakfast, and played a video game. Like I normally do, I was just staying at home playing video games all day, because I had nothing better to do. Until of course, around midnight, there was a large crash in my backyard.

Searching outside, I found a large stone, which I could only assume was a meteorite. But it seemed different to me from any meteorite I had ever seen before. It was a dark pale bluish shade, and when I put my hand on its surface to feel it (for whatever reason), it was cool to the touch. I myself would have assumed it was nothing, but there was something almost... alluring about it.

Feeling my sense of adventure take over, I tried to get a closer look. I was out in the cold, mosquitos were biting me, and I desperately wanted to get some sleep, but at the same time I wanted to know all I could about the rock.

Once again putting my hand to the mysterious stone, I felt a sudden urge to make a wish. It felt as though I was in the presence of a shooting star...

Remembering that there was nothing left for me to do today, I realized I was bored. My life had nothing genuinely exciting happen in a long while. As a kid, I dreamed of adventuring, and even now, those dreams would appear ALL the time.

As sleep was taking me over, I unknowingly said what I was thinking:

"Man, I wish I could just leave this place. Go on an adventure or something."

As soon as that sentence was uttered, the stone started glowing a brighter blue. As soon as that happened, I was very worried, but it didn't scare me. Almost certain it was just an illusion, I went back into my house, and went back to sleep. The next morning, I got a call from a friend.

"Hey dude," he said, "Come to my place. I got something awesome to show you!"

Only a few minutes later, I came over to his place, and saw the most beautiful sight I'd seen in a long time. I saw an amazing stash of fireworks, which was perfect, considering 4th of July was tonight. Handing me a Roman Candle, he asked "Wanna light some off right now?"

To which I immediately replied "Count me in!"

In only ten minutes, he and I had the most fun I'd had in a while. Many of the best fireworks were saved for later, but we did manage to get a few good explosions from them. A few minutes into it, I was going over to get a soda. I got the soda, but once I was back, I tripped, and landed in the last place I wanted to be.

Right on top of a lit pack of firecrackers.

* * *

The world around me just seemed to be gone. I was surrounded by darkness basically. There seemed to be nothing in all directions of this place. The only thing that I could be certain of was that I was dead.

And it was my own fault. To be honest, I was a naturally clumsy person, but the fact that I landed right as the firecrackers went 'ka-boom' was the most horrible case of bad luck in existence. Now I was stuck in the blackness that is oblivion, and there was nothing around me.

Until I noticed an inviting light in the distance.

There was nothing to it. The light just appeared out of absolutely nowhere. However, since it was literally the only thing I could see in this blackness, my instinct was to go to it. I didn't even care what the hell it lead to. I just wanted to leave this freaky place, and in my mind, anywhere was better than remaining here.

It was only a few minutes until the light was reached, but it felt like hours to me. But in the end, it was all worth it. Once I reached it, the bright orb revealed to me a world which had many amazing sights.

Not hesitating to enter it, I got the chance to look at the world, and realized something:

I was in a world that was not my own.

Scanning my surroundings to see what was there, I saw many many different types of dinosaurs. The closest to my current location were a bunch of Triceratops that were looking at me in an incredibly shocked way. But considering that I likely just appeared out of nowhere, it was understandable. And then I looked in my hand, and noticed the steel spear in it (which was strange, considering that I don't own a spear(I know how to use one, though).

As one of the Triceratops then charged at me I began to run. Somehow, I was able to outrun the great beast, but only until we were away from the rest of the herd. At that point, there was nothing left for me to do but fight.

I was able to hold the dino back, but it eventually overpowered me. And there was nothing that I could do to counter it, and as a last ditch effort to save myself, I put my spear out in front of me, closed my eyes, and hoped for the best.

* * *

 **Just a warning: the first couple of chapters might be a bit dark (as far as you've seen. First chapter and I already died). See, this storyline takes place during the drought from the first movie. And I will be going through it on my own journey to you-know-where.**

 **There's also going to be some magic involved. I won't say how, but I will say that the magic will be very 'Brother Bear'-esque. And if you've seen the movie in like, ever, you'll know what I mean.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: My Death and Troy's Birth

* * *

 **Yeah, so this chapter is quite dark, but that's only to move the storyline forward. I will be using a fake name for my character in this, because I do not want to reveal my real name.**

* * *

I was just sitting there, waiting for the Triceratops to kill me. My eyes were closed, and I was too afraid to open them. As I waited, there was no reason for me to open my eyes, until I felt something warm trickle down my spear, onto my hand.

At that moment, I opened my eyes to see what it was, and then was horrified by the discovery.

It was blood. It was the Dinosaur's blood! My spear was in its neck!

As the beast fell to the ground, it's breathing was heavy, and it was struggling to stay alive. With it's last breath, it groaned, but I could've sworn it sounded just like he was saying 'Damn you'.

I can't believe it! I killed a dinosaur!

This was horrible. I've always loved dinosaurs, and now I've killed one. Yes I was defending myself, but I didn't know if it was going to kill me or not.

It hurt me inside to see the sight of the Triceratops. It didn't do anything genuinely wrong, and the fact was that I killed it. The blood on my hands was a sign that I did something bad. And the worst part was that I was forced to. So I just decided to mourn. Today, I lost my innocence.

Then suddenly a cloud appeared in the sky, and took the shape of a Triceratops. It was odd, but something about seeing it only made me feel worse. And then, I heard it talk.

"You killed me," The spirit (as I assumed it was) spoke, it's voice strong and commanding. "And now you mourn me?"

"I feel horrible," I spoke to it, "You didn't deserve i-"

"Shhhh..." It said in a very soothing manner, "I understand, child. You were frightened, and you wanted to survive. Though, I see now that you are no threat. Those eyes of yours are innocent, and your mourning proves you to be as such."

"I'm just so scared... I don't know what to do." As a single tear escaped my eye, the beast's spirit noticed, and said the one line that I didn't understand:

"Then perhaps you need the mind of a Dinosaur."

It was at that same moment, that I felt incredibly weak. Only a moment later, my body just gave up. As I lost consciousness, the words of the spirit were stuck in my head.

* * *

And then, I was sent back to the abyss. This time, I didn't stay very long, as I was led to another place, a place of pure white. I was looking at my surroundings, and it was very small. All I could assume was that it was an egg shell. Only a moment later, I noticed I had a horn at the end of my face! Being able to see a slight reflection in the eggshell, I got a good look at myself.

I was a Triceratops!

 _'Was this what that guy meant when he said 'I need the mind of a dinosaur'?'_

From outside of it, I heard someone say, "Everyone, it's hatching!" This must've been my cue, as I noticed several silhouettes gather around this space. Using said horn to ram through the shell, I fell onto the cold hard ground. The first thing I saw when I looked up was a female who had a motherly smile on her face. Then instinct took over, and I came to the female and nuzzled her leg.

"Aw," Another female came up and smiled, "Your son is absolutely adorable, Catrina."

 _'Catrina,'_ My mind then thought. This is the name of my new mother, I guess. Having that information in mind, I then heard my new mother say "I can tell he'll be a strong Threehorn one day."

 _'Threehorn,'_ Putting the pieces together, this name must be what they called themselves. Once I had these two pieces of info, my new mother brought me some green grasses. Hesitantly, I began to eat them, and the taste wasn't bad. As she smiled, another female asked, "What are you going to name him?"

Mother's answer was almost immediate. "He will be named Troy,"

I made an attempt to stand, and remembered I now had four legs, so I needed to get used to that. The moment I was up on all fours, my new mother and the rest started cheering at me. "See that," Mother said, "He's so advanced. I can't wait to show him to his daddy." As she started to walk away, she signaled me softly that she wanted me to come with. Which I did.

My first few steps on four feet were a little awkward. Thank goodness I've always been a fast learner. Once I had the hang of it, I made an attempt at running, which also gradually got easier until I'd mastered it. By the time that was done, we had reached our destination. Standing before me was a fearsome Threehorn with a simple look on his face. "Catrina," he said, "I'm sorry I didn't make it to see the hatching."

"It's okay Terra," she told him, "You're one of the most important members of the herd. I understand you're busy." As I then looked at the fearsome dino in front of me, I came out from behind mother's leg, and he noticed me and asked, "This him?"

"Yep. Troy, this is your father." At that point, instinct took over once more, and I nuzzled his leg. "Hi there Troy." He said, his voice gruff, but sweet, "Welcome to the world."

It was now that I understood what the Threehorn spirit meant about the 'mind of a dinosaur'. Today, James was gone, and Troy was born.

* * *

 **So, what do you think? Pretty okay right? Also, now you see why this story is called 'Troy'. I always thought that that would be a good threehorn name, and now it's being used by me.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Meeting

* * *

It had been five years since the day I was reborn, and since then, I had mostly adjusted to being a Threehorn. There were many things that I had to get used to (not eating or even liking meat anymore being one), but eventually I got the hang of it.

My dad spent as much time as he could teaching me important skills. And today, I was going to attempt one of these skills.

I was going to try to break a rock with my horn.

Finding one a little taller than me, I got a distance away, and started to charge. The moment I hit it, I only made a big crack in it. But hey, that's a start.

"Nice work, son," Dad said, his smile saying he was proud. "That was a good hit for someone your age."

I've seen dad destroy boulders with his horn, and that is something that I hope to be able to do one day. But as I am only five years old now, it would be a long time before that would happen. But as said, that crack in the rock was a start (and apparently a good start).

"Terra," I heard mom call, "Turok is looking for you." And once she told him that, he swent to find him. I knew Turok was the one who led the herd, but that's all I knew about him. Following dad (but staying out of sight), I saw him talking to a threehorn with a large scar on the side of his face.

I couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, other than that there was a meeting going on, and that dad needed to be there. Deciding to keep following in the shadows, my skills in sneaking and small stature were both incredibly useful.

* * *

The meeting started with Topps coming out of the crowd and saying "As you all know, the land has been changing. I believe it has gotten to the point where we must do it," Turok then came out, and said "Topps is right. We can't deny it any longer. There is much less food than there used to be, and it's only going to get worst," As everyone nodded, I wanted to believe I knew what they were getting at...

"I'm afraid we must move away from here."

I was right! I knew what they were talking about. Until my father began talking. "I know where we must go," he said, to which Topps retorted with, "Where, then? The 'Great Valley'?"

And then dad challenged Topps, saying "It is real, damn it! My grandfather lived there!"

Topps then got an angry look on his face and said, "It is not real. And even if it is, it's likely been effected as well."

"It's our only chance, you close minded fool!"

Offended by this, Topps got ready to charge. Until of course Turok got in between the two, and stopped the battle before it started. "Listen Terra," Turok said, "I'm not a believer either, but you are right. It's likely our only chance. We must head out first thing in the morning."

Topps then reluctantly accepted this, and the herd agreed to it. I got back just in time (mom was busy gathering food, so I left at the perfect time to go unnoticed), and got ready for dinner. Mom brought back some grasses that were still relatively green (compared to everything else in the area), and once dad came back, we ate.

"So we're finally doing it," mom asked. Dad responded with, "Yup. We head out tomorrow, so we need to get a good night sleep tonight."

Dad noticed then noticed that I seemed a bit worried, and told me "Don't worry Troy. The Great Valley will be a great place. There, we'll never have to worry about food, or about sharpteeth."

Of course I wasn't exactly worried about food, but I was VERY worried about sharpteeth. Immediately, my mind went to _'What if we didn't make it?'_ The first thing that came to my mind was death, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. If I was so broken up about a threehorn dying when I was human, what would it be like now that I was one...

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I remembered something that dad said: _'If you spend every moment worrying about the future, you will never be able to enjoy what's happening right now.'_

So I simply decided to cross that bridge when I got to it, and return my focus to the grasses in front of me.

* * *

 **I did everything in my power to keep the tone the same, so as to fit the tone that the original movie held. I hope I am doing a good job at it.**

 **Also, I do read the reviews 'Hunter'. I don't know what you meant by hoping for something more like Turok, but I liked that name so I used it. Hope you don't mind.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Meeting Littlefoot

* * *

As dawn approached, dad was the one to lead the herd where they needed to go. The only thing he said though was "We must follow the bright circle to where it touches the ground." This meant we had to head west in order to get there.

The journey was long and tedious after only the first day. I was exhausted, as was everyone else. Considering that the Bright Circle just went down, I decided to get some sleep. But first, I was going to walk around a little. And unfortunately, I ran into the brattiest Threehorn in the herd.

Cera was Topps' daughter, and was known for being incredibly stubborn. I thought she was an okay dinosaur, but there was just something about the way she acted that annoyed me. "What are you doing up," she asked in a snarky way. "I could ask the same thing to you," was my retort.

"I'm up because I'm bored. I'm gonna go and walk."

"Wait," I tell her, "You shouldn't stay up. We need all our energy to get to the Great Valley."

"Oh please," she scoffed. "There's no such thing as the Great Valley."

"Yes there IS!" I yelled, annoyed at her. And then she told me "You're just as dumb as your dad!"

"You mean the one everybody's listening to? If my dad was dumb, then we wouldn't be heading that way now, would we?"

"Shut up," she told me, to which I responded with "Oh why? Someone can't admit they're wrong?" This made her so mad that she attempted to charge at me. Unfortunately for her, I was prepared, and won. I was the stronger of us, as I was always training whenever I got the chance.

As she got knocked into a rock, it apparently woke up Turok, who quickly noticed us. And then began to scold us. "You two shouldn't be fighting," he said, "This is no time for it. The land is changing and we all need to cooperate."

"But he attacked me!" Cera protested. "Was that before or after you insulted his father?" Turok said, his voice obviously showing he knows the answer. Upon hearing this, Cera just went back to her dad, anger evident on her face.

The next morning, I was practicing my horn bash. I found another rock about my size, and got back to charge at it. Today I did much more damage than I did two days ago, as evident by the fact that the rock had a much bigger crack in it than the one back at our old home.

"Wow," I heard a voice say. It sounded like a little boy, and he sounded amazed. Curious, I said "Show yourself," and out from behind some grasses came a brown Longneck. I hadn't seen one of these in a long while, so I was curious as to where he came from.

"Get out of here," I heard Cera say to the longneck, the fellow Threehorn youngling appearing out of nowhere. Ignoring her, I asked the longneck his name, which he responded with "I'm Littlefoot. Who are you?"

"I'm Troy," I said, "And do you wanna have a go?" And judging by the fact that he was preparing to charge, I took that as a yes. So, me and Cera both decided to charge at him, but were stopped by Cera's father. "Come Cera," he said, "Threehorns never play with Longnecks."

And judging by the way he said 'Longnecks', I would assume that Topps has a specific dislike for them. As Cera told Littlefoot the exact same thing that her dad said, the Longneck got a confused look on his face. Then as (what I could only assume was) his mother came and grabbed him, I decided it was time to get some answers.

I headed back to my mom and dad right as the herd was going to start moving again. As soon as we started moving, I asked my dad If we could talk alone later that night. "Of course," he said. When it got to nighttime, he kept his word.

"So what did you want to talk about," dad asked me, and as such I asked my question. "Why don't Threehorns play with Longnecks?"

"Who said that, Troy?"

"Cera's dad." I said, upset. He could tell this, and answered me "It's because we're different. We all stay away from eachother because we are all different."

"But can't we get along with eachother?" This was a hopeful question, and the answer I got made me feel so very happy.

"Frankly, I've never understood it. I mean, we're all dinosaurs here, right? So what's the problem. Heck, I wouldn't mind if you were friends with a Longneck. You'd be breaking the norm." Hearing my dad say this set my mind at ease. I thought that if the species all stayed apart, then the world would be separated. I should hope it isn't like that forever.

* * *

 **And this is the next chapter of this story. I want to keep it interesting, while still staying true to the story. And as such, I am making little changes to many scenes that actually happened in the movie. Also, as you can see, Dad Terra is obviously smarter than the rest of the dinosaurs who followed that bigotry. That will play into the story later on somehow.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Sleepless Night

 **Hey, so here is chapter 5. This is where things start to go into the story of the first movie. And anywho, I figure I should say this, because KittyBubbles1998 commented on this, and I think she's right.**

 **I have been very quick paced with the last few chapters as far as storytelling goes, and I am going to take it down a little. I was mainly doing that because I wanted to get to the main storyline, AKA the movie with Troy put in it.**

 **That's all for now.**

* * *

The rest of the herd was asleep, but I simply couldn't. It had been like this since the night circle had came into the sky, and now, it was starting to near the ground. Deciding that trying to continue sleeping was a futile effort, I felt my throat was a bit dry. Luckily there was a lake nearby.

I remember seeing this lake through the many dead trees that surrounded us. And while the land was as barren here as anywhere else, the lake was crystal clear and looked very refreshing. In fact, I remember seeing some green grasses near it, so I might be able to get a small snack while I'm at it.

Heading out in the direction where I saw it before, I got a quick drink, and had a couple of the large grasses (to make sure my strength was up for the journey). I was planning on heading back ASAP, but I kinda just wanted to look at myself. It wasn't often that I got to look at myself anymore, especially since this world doesn't have mirrors. Taking a look in the clear waters of the lake, I saw a sight that five years ago would have been unfamiliar to me.

Though I am not one to reminisce about those days.

My reflection was showing what I am now: a light brown Threehorn, with a lighter brown underbelly, and a chocolate colored back. The only thing that remained consistent from the shift was my deep blue eyes.

Honestly, my coloring I always thought was interesting, and it was similar to my father's (except his back was maroon-ish, but otherwise, I basically looked like a smaller version of him), but I seemed to inherit nothing from my mother (who was a shade of greyish-red). Though now that I think about it, my mom also has blue eyes, so maybe I got that from her.

No matter what the reason for my blue eyes, it doesn't matter. Planning to head back to the herd, I saw a hopper was going some other way, and decided I wanted to follow it.

Then, over in the distance, I saw that Longneck from a couple days ago, who was also going after the hopper. I finally got a real good look at him, and I noticed he had almost the same coloration as me (except I was a slight bit darker), and he had reddish-brown eyes, full of innocence. As we crossed paths, he said "Hey. Troy, right?"

"Yeah," I said, happy he remembered me, "And you're Littlefoot. You're going after the hopper too, right?"

"Well both of you forget it!"

The one who said this came over to us, revealing herself to be Cera. She continued by saying, "That's MY hopper!"

"I-I saw it first," Littlefoot said a bit shakily. "Well he's in MY pond," Cera argued, still trying to get rid of us. Sliding down a small ridge, both me and Littlefoot followed her, seeing the hoppers in the pond, underneath a rotted tree.

As she looked at us angrily, said hoppers went underwater, and then some bubbles came up, with their reflections inside of them. Each of us took a try at popping one or two of them, and it was rather fun. Which Cera then agreed with saying "Hey, this is fun!"

I was very content with hearing this. If this was able to get the brat of our herd to have fun, that is a win in my book. _'Darn it,'_ I thought, once I noticed the glow going over the land. _'It's getting near morning. And we were having so much fun.'_

Oh well. They say all good things come to an end. It's just lucky that we happened to be near our herd. Well, me and Cera anyway. I don't know about Littlefoot.

Right as I was about to leave, I heard a heavy thud sound in the distance. It was too small to be an earthquake, but sounded far too big to be a Threehorn, or even a Longneck for that matter. Call it a 'Threehorn's Intuition', but I feel as though it's a predator.

It had me curious, but not in a good way. More in a 'If I look back, there is going to be a gigantic and vicious carnivore behind me' kinda way. And knowing my intuition, it was undoubtedly correct. I was horribly afraid to look back, but I had to, because the thud sound wasn't stopping.

Taking a look behind myself, I saw the sight I didn't want to see. Behind us was the predator that everyone feared out here.

He was only known as 'Sharptooth', and he was the one who gave carnivores that name. He was ruthless, and would attack anything or anyone he wanted to without any care. And now me, Cera, and Littlefoot were all stuck out here with him.

And apparently the others noticed. "Sharptooth!" Cera screamed, as we all fell over in an attempt to flee, Littlefoot then screamed "Mother! Help!" As we got up, the giant creature's foot came down, and we got out of the way just in time.

And as we ran away, all I could think was _'Darn it, instinct! Why do you always have to be right?'_

* * *

 **So, here we start to get into the real parts of the story. I am going to re-watch the first movie tomorrow (and possibly a couple more since I have all of them on DVD), just so I can be certain I do everything right. I will be taking a few liberties, such as changing a line or two, but nothing too significant (for right now, anyway).**

 **But in this chapter, I got the chance to slow things down a slight bit (as we didn't go through an entire two days in the storytelling), and I got to describe Troy's coloring a slight bit. If I didn't describe it well enough for you, just imagine a Threehorn with blue eyes and Littlefoot's coloration.**

 **Anyway... next chapter in a couple of days.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Sharptooth's Attack

* * *

As me, Cera, and Littlefoot made our way into the thorn bush, the only thing we had in mind was 'Survive'. We were under a large dead briar, hoping that the predator would go away, but he didn't. Sharptooth poked his head into the thorn bush, sniffing around to search for us. This was when I assumed we were doomed.

Once Sharptooth chose his prey, they never survived.

Sneaking out from under the briar, me, Cera, and Littlefoot made an attempt to escape. If we could, we'd be the luckiest dinosaurs out here. "This way," Littlefoot whispered to us, pointing to a certain path, but Cera shook her head, and went a different path. "No, wrong way," I exclaimed (quietly though), and went after her.

Unfortunately, as we did, Sharptooth practically pounced at us. Me and Cera got away, but I looked back to see Littlefoot tangled in a thorny vine. "Littlefoot, I got you!" And with that, I went over to the vine, and bit down on it as hard as I can.

It snapped, and hit Sharptooth right in the eye. The great predator bolted up and scratched at his right eye, trying to get the thorn out. "Run," I tell the Longneck, and he and I begin to flee, back in the direction of my herd.

Fearing what would happen if I looked back, I decided not to. Then, as it turns out, I didn't need to. Sharptooth jumped behind us, making a semi-big tremor, and then roared at us, before getting hit by a massive tail. Looking up, I saw the Longneck from before, coming to attack the predator.

"Mother," Littlefoot said as she told us to head the other way. Then as the two fought, another figure joined the battle. "It's Turok!" I screamed, noticing him charging at Sharptooth. And we were stuck in the middle of the last battleground I wanted to be in.

If there was ever a battle I didn't want to see, It was a battle against the most feared predator in this land.

Littlefoot's Mother and Turok both gave it their all while we ran a distance away. Sharptooth forced them to back away, but they continued to attack, Littlefoot's Mother smacking him with her tail, and Turok charging him with his horns.

Then, as we all tried to retreat, Sharptooth jumped onto the back of Littlefoot's mother (I don't know how he was able to do so, and I'm too scared to wanna know) and attacked. Miraculously, she was able to get away, and knock Sharptooth back to Turok, who charged, and sent him into a large boulder.

As the retreat continued, a shaking was coming through the ground, and I immediately knew what was happening. "Earthshake!"

The ground split in two, making its way to where we were, and we started to run. As we were, the ground was breaking, but we had a far bigger problem. Sharptooth was still after us.

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us, but it still wasn't enough. The giant's footsteps were so strong, they caused us to lose balance, and land on his foot. The next step he took was right on a crack, that split open and released steam. We got out of the way just in time, but the land continued to split apart. Turok was on the same side as us, and continued to attack, but was then dealt a fatal blow.

A bite, straight down on his back.

As we all fell backwards, we landed on a rock, and saw Sharptooth falling towards us, immediately after he took a bite out of Turok. We were about to be forced off into the abyss, but grabbed onto the predator's tail. As Littlefoot called out for his mother, I saw our one chance:

"We have to run for it!"

This was all the info Cera and Littlefoot needed to follow me up Sharptooth's back, jumping off of his snout and onto the crumbling piece of land. Using every bit of energy we had, we attempted to make our way up, but to no avail.

And as we were about to be in Sharptooth's gaping maw, Turok's horns pushed the beast back, while Littlefoot's mother saved us from falling. Once we made it back onto solid ground, Littlefoot and his mother went in one direction, while me, Cera, and Turok tried to get back to our herd.

Cera let out a small shriek, which alerted the others in the herd that we were in danger. They tried to get to us, but it was a useless attempt. "Daddy," Cera exclaimed, as she tried to run toward her father. I followed, but we were both unfortunately stopped by the fact of the land splitting one more time.

The piece we were on fell down a large distance, and many chunks of it fell, trapping many dinosaurs below. As I looked at every angle possible, I came to find a very sad realization: The divide was uncrossable, and all I could do was stand there and weep.

This was horrible to see. Many dinos have likely died here today. Herds were divided, families were torn apart, Turok was injured, and there looks to be no way across the gap. I wanted to give up.

"Troy," I heard in the distance, "Can you hear me?" As I looked up to the other side of the divide, I saw my mother and father both standing there.

"Mom! Dad!" I called out as loud as I could. "There's no way across!"

"You don't need a way across," mother said, "You know what you must do."

"Find the Great Valley, Son!" Dad said, "And stay close to Turok."

"But what if we get lost?"

"Listen, my son. I have taught you how to survive, and I know you can survive. Just remember what I've taught you, and you'll be fine!"

Hearing my father say he had faith in me, and knowing that he was confident in my survival skills gave me the strength I needed to continue. Nodding my head, I headed over to Turok, and noticed the sun had almost fully went down.

 _'Sharptooth is dead,'_ I thought to myself, _'So there is next to nothing standing in our way. We must keep following the Bright Circle, and make it to the Great Valley.'_

I now knew my mission, and it was one I must complete.

* * *

 **I am now attempting to keep the storyline true, but also to find interesting ways to involve the OCs. Though because Catrina and Terra are both on the other side of the ravine, the will only be mentioned from here on, until a certain point that I'm certain you know when. Anywho, next chapter in a few days.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Promises Made

* * *

As soon as night hit entirely, it started to rain. I was okay with it, because I had always liked the rain. But after the day I've had, I have no time to enjoy things. I must start on the journey to the valley. I followed my father's instructions, and stayed close to Turok. I kept my pace slow, mainly because I had to. Turok seemed to be moving very slowly, and I knew exactly why.

Because Sharptooth's bite was finally catching up to him.

As we kept walking, eventually, Turok stopped, and collapsed onto the ground. I came back and asked "Are you okay?" To which he responded, "I'm afraid not." as his voice started to falter.

"Come on," I tried to get him up, "We gotta make it to the valley."

"I'm sorry Troy, but I won't be able to. This is where my journey ends."

I had wanted to believe that Turok would survive it, because he was incredibly tough. But who am I trying to fool? I was only denying the inevitable. Turok was dying. Tears were in my eyes, as I felt it was all my fault.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have wandered off."

"No, my boy," he told me weakly, "It's not your fault, or my fault, or anyone's fault. The circle of life has begun, but I guess I wasn't meant to make it to the end."

"That's not right. You can't die, there's so many who need you."

And then Turok said something I had never expected:

"Even so, I wouldn't find it fair if I let you die again."

Hearing him say this shocked me beyond words, but I didn't understand what he meant. Then he clarified, by saying "Let me tell you a story."

* * *

"Five years ago, before you were born, a creature we had never seen before appeared in a flash of light. He was wielding a shard thing on the end of a stick, and our instincts took over. Tyrus, one of the most powerful, and the former leader of our herd, went after the creature, and being his friend, I was concerned."

"As such I headed after him in secret, when I caught up with him, I saw Tyrus, dead, with the creature covered in blood, but mourning him. And then, I saw a cloud take the shape of a threehorn, and heard Tyrus' voice come from it. I heard their interaction, and the main thing I focused on was, 'Perhaps you need the mind of a Dinosaur'."

"Afterword, Tyrus' spirit spoke, saying 'Turok, I know you're there.' Knowing I was unable to hide from him, I came out from behind the bush, and he told me everything. He explained that the hatchling of Catrina and Terra would be born with the creatures spirit. And that hatchling was you."

* * *

"You mean... you knew the whole time?" I asked, his story catching me off guard, "And you treated me the same as any other hatchling, even after what I did as that creature?"

"No matter what you did as that creature, you are Troy now. It doesn't matter what the creature did, because I never knew him. But you, I have known since you were born, and you have grown to be a good little Threehorn."

This made tears sting at my eyes, and made me feel better a bit. There was a horrible guilt I had whenever I happened to be near the area where that happened. I saw the corpses of me and the Threehorn 'Tyrus', until we started to migrate a couple of days later, wanting to look for a different area.

Now I knew Turok knew, but didn't treat me differently because of it.

"Troy," he said weakly, "Will you grant me my dying wish?" As I nodded, he asked me, "You remember the path to the Great Valley, right?"

"Of course," I said, "Follow the Bright Circle. Past the Rock that looks like a Longneck, and the Mountains that Burn."

"Well use that memory, and make your way there."

"I don't know if I can."

"I know you can, Troy. You have a strong heart, and if you listen to it, you can get through anything."

And with that, Turok took his last breath, and at that point, I knew he was gone. I was determined now to get out of the rain, as I didn't want to be in it anymore. The fact that I had this bad memory connected to it made me lose my love of it.

* * *

I made my way into a small cave, and decided I would head out in the morning. And then I heard a whimpering noise in the back. Going a bit deeper in, I found Littlefoot, and he was hiding just like me. Upon asking him what's wrong, his response was "It's not fair. She should have known better."

He continued on, "That was Sharptooth. It's all her fault." And this got me curious, so I asked "Who's fault?"

"Mother's."

"Oh..." I said silently, and continued to look at him, the pain obvious in his eyes.

"Why did I wander so far from home?"

"Shhh..." I told him simply, "It's not your fault, your mother's fault, or anyone's for that matter. It's just like Turok told me: It's all apart of the great Circle of Life."

"Indeed," a voice came from behind us. Looking behind us, we saw an old Clubtail, who looked at us consolingly. "Who are you?" I asked him politely, and then he gave us an answer. "I am just an old fella who happens to be at the right place at the right time."

"What am I gonna do?" Littlefoot turned back to me and asked through his tears, "I miss her so much."

"Then you'll always miss her," the old Clubtail told him consolingly. Hearing this made Littlefoot turn his head "Now you listen to old Rooter. You'll always miss her, but if you never forget what she taught you, she'll always be with you. You'll never really be apart, for you're still a part of each other."

"My tummy hurts."

"Well, that, too, will go in time, little fella... only in time."

With that, Rooter headed out in another direction, and left me and Littlefoot alone. "She wanted me to make it to the Great Valley, but I can't." I felt horrible for him, so I made him a promise:

"Then I'll take you. I know the way, and you and me will travel to it. I promise you we'll make it to the valley, and I'll sooner be dead than break that promise."

Littlefoot was evidently touched by my words, and then grabbed me, and gave me what basically equated to a hug. Understanding his pain, I hugged him back. And as the hug ceased a moment later, the storm outside had passed. Seeing the sun would not be up for a few hours, me and him decided to sleep. And as I slept, Turok's words were repeating in my head.

 _'You have a strong heart, and if you listen to it, you can get through anything.'_

* * *

 **Now, this chapter, I tried to add some shock factor, since I kinda spoiled that Turok was gonna die, with saying 'Fatal Blow' in the last chapter. But anywho, I also changed up the storyline a little, making the two meet Rooter in a cave. And since I didn't want to steal Rooter's thunder, I think I found a good way to make sure Rooter was still a character that helped Littlefoot.**

 **You like?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Journey Begins

 **Hey guys. Just a note (not that this is going to happen a lot, but I figure I should tell you). From now on, Bold and Italicized is talk from the spirits.**

* * *

As we woke up, the storm had passed fully, and it was the break of dawn. This meant that we should start moving. Nudging Littlefoot awake, he noticed the sunlight, and I said "Alright. We better get moving. The valley's probably still quite a ways away."

Littlefoot got up quickly, but was still seemed to be a bit sluggish. I knew he wasn't going to forget the pain in only one day, so I have to be patient. As we left the cave, he was moving a bit slow, but at a good pace for how tired he likely is. The first thing we had in mind was to see if we could find some food. I mean, if we're going to survive the journey, having food in our stomach was going to be necessary.

As we started to travel, we passed a large set of foot prints. Now most dinosaur tracks looked the same to me (other than the different sizes), but these were obviously Longneck footprints. I could tell it was hurting Littlefoot to see these footprints, because I could see he'd gotten glum again upon seeing them.

It was at that moment that a leaf fell from the sky. I knew this leaf type. It's a Treestar! It landed directly in the footprint, and Littlefoot looked at it, and I looked into it as well. I heard the voice of a female, talking to Littlefoot.

 _ **'Dear, sweet Littlefoot,'**_ The voice said beautifully, _**'Do you remember the way to the Great Valley'**_ To which Littlefoot shook his head. _**'Follow the Bright Circle past the Rock that looks like a Longneck, and past the Mountains that Burn.'**_

Littlefoot seemed to understand, and continued to listen. The voice had one last thing to say.

 _ **'I'll be in your heart, Littlefoot. Let your heart guide you.'**_

With this, I was certain I knew who it was. "That was your mother's voice, wasn't it?"

Littlefoot nodded, as he picked up the Treestar with him mouth, and put it on his back. And as we kept moving, we came to find a wall, where Littlefoot saw a shadow. "Mother!" he said, as he jumped gleefully, "It's you!" Afterword, he started running to the shadow, and when it started to shrink, I knew it was an illusion.

"Wait Mother," he said, not even knowing about the shrinking of the shadow, but then he came over to a rock wall. A couple of moments later, he finally realized the truth. I came over, planning to console him. And then he said something unexpected.

"Troy," he said sadly, "I don't know if I can do this... I've never been all alone before."

"But you're not alone. I'm here with you."

To this, Littlefoot's face showed signs of happiness, but with a bit of sadness left in. With that, we decided to start moving again.

* * *

Along the way, we ran into someone we weren't expecting, as we neared the ravine once more. "Cera," I said, "Hey."

"What do you want, Troy," she said snobbishly, "And why are you hanging out with that Longneck?"

"We're travelling together," I responded, then asking "Where are you going?"

"To find our kind. They're on the other side."

Littlefoot warned her by saying "We've looked all over here. You can't climb up the other side."

"Maybe YOU can't," she retorted, moving onto a ledge that would take her into the ravine. "Wait," Littlefoot then continued, as she struggled to stay on the little ledge, "We're going to the Great Valley. Maybe we could... help each other."

"Ha," she scoffed, "A Threehorn doesn't need help from a Longneck." Immediately after she was done insulting Littlefoot, she fell down a ramp connected to the ledge she was on. Littlefoot was still trying to see if he could get her on board, by telling her "At least we wouldn't be alone."

"Well, when I find my sisters, I won't be alone," she said from down in the ravine, "so go away. Threehorns can be very dangerous. They only talk with other Threehorns, and they only travel with other Threehorns. And you should do the same, Troy."

Immediately after, Cera was out of sight, and me and Littlefoot were left in this barren landscape again. There was no sight of green food anywhere, and once again, it was just me and him. Though for some reason, Littlefoot looked sad again. I asked what's wrong, and he said what was on his mind.

"Is it true what Cera said," he asked sadly, "That Threehorns only travel with other Threehorns?"

"Normally. Why do you ask?"

His expression was one that showed how upset he was, as he asked "Does that mean you're going to leave me?" Hearing this hurt me on the inside. Normally, I would have been insulted that he would hold me to the same standard as Cera, but I understand that wasn't what he was feeling.

"No, Littlefoot," I told him calmly, "I'm not gonna leave you."

"But what about what Cera sa-"

"Who cares what Cera thinks," I cut him off, determined to set his mind at ease, "It is true what she said for most Threehorns. But I'm not like most Threehorns." I could tell this made him feel a little better, so I continued, "And besides, when I make a promise to a friend, I keep it."

"So... we're friends?"

This question, I was prepared for, and gave him an honest answer. "Of course we're friends. And I never let a friend down."

* * *

 **So, this chapter was done a day before my usual time (3 days for a new chapter), because I already knew what I wanted to do for this. And it was relatively easy to write. Long story short, I got this chapter done quick, and I think I did okay.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Two new Travelling Buddies

* * *

Littlefoot and I had found a forest, with a decent sized lake and trees with some green left on them. Me and him took a small rest right by the lake. First thing we did was drink a bit of water, and then rest a bit. The leaves around us were too high up for us to get, so our hunger would not be sated just yet. Oh well...

As we were waiting by the stump of a tree, a small creature came out of the lake. It was a green... creature with blue eyes, looking to be about our age. She came up onto the stump and said, "Hello."

Trying to ignore her, and just continue to rest, the little creature kept trying to start a conversation. "I said 'hello'," she said, looking at me just staring off into the distance. She gasped, "Maybe you cannot talk yet. Huh? Huh?"

"No," I tell her, "I can talk. I'm just in no mood to talk."

"Why not?" When she said this, I was getting slightly irritated, but I figured I'd be nice. "Do you really want to know?" I asked her, and she nodded her head.

"Well," I started, "I don't exactly have a lot of time to socialize. Me and that Longneck over there have to keep moving. So, I don't have time to talk with... whatever you are."

"Me? I'm a Longneck too," she said, attempting to stretch her neck, "And I have a long tail like he does." She made another attempt to stretch, which me and Littlefoot were unimpressed by.

"Alright... I'm not a Longneck. I am a Bigmouth. But I am all alone. I am."

Hearing this was rather sad (especially considering Littlefoot just had a similar thing before), so I nodded, signaling her to continue on. The next thing out of her mouth was "I lost my family in the big Earthshake."

She was in a similar case to both of us, being separated from our families. No one should ever be in such a case, but we all were. Littlefoot evidently sensed her pain, because he joined the conversation, saying "Well... you wanna go with us?"

"Yeah," the Bigmouth stood up, suddenly in a better mood. "Oh! Oh yes, yes, yes! I do. I do."

"Well, alright," Littlefoot continued, "Come on... but you have to keep up."

"I will keep up. I will."

And so it is official. We are now travelling with a Bigmouth. Actually, now that I think about it, I think mom mentioned those things. Said their kind go by many names, 'Swimmer' being the most commonly used. So I'm just gonna call her species a Swimmer.

Anyway, as we continued to move, she asked where we are going, to which I responded "To the Great Valley. That's where all the herds are going. And where we'll find our families."

"Do you think my family went to the Great Valley too?"

"Maybe," Littlefoot answered, "My mother said it's where all the herds are going."

"Oh, I hope. I hope."

Then, figuring introductions were in order, I did so. "My name is Troy," I told her, "and this is Littlefoot." as I pointed to him.

"My name is Ducky. Yep that is what it is."

There was something about this little Swimmer's energy that was infectious, as I was now hopping over the cracks in the ground. Littlefoot and Ducky both joined in, and we apparently made a game out of it. "Don't step on a crack or you'll fall and break your back." Ducky said in a singsong way. And then a moment later, my stomach growled... as well as both of theirs.

I chuckled, "Our stomachs are all thinking the same thing."

"Yeah," Littlefoot said, looking at this weird tree, "I wonder what this tastes like." Then he took a bite, and we heard what sounded like a scream. "The tree is talking," Ducky exclaimed,

"No it's not,"Littlefoot countered, but Ducky continued, saying "You should not eat talking trees. Nope, nope, nope."

To which I said "Trees don't talk."

As Littlefoot continued to yank at the tree, something fell down it, and landed on Littlefoot's face. Littlefoot screamed, and the thing flew off of his face, and slammed into the ground, creating a small hole. As Ducky went over to the hole, the creature yelped, and Ducky asked "Who are you? Huh?"

"M-my name Petrie..." The little guy stuttered. Ducky laughed, "Petrie, huh? Funny name."

"Uh... I flied?" Petrie asked, coming out of the hole, revealing himself to be a small Flyer. "No," Ducky then continued, "You falled."

"I FALLED?!" He shouted disheartenedly, going to the ground. "You cannot fly," Ducky was the one to ask, "How did you get up there?"

"I climb."

"But you are a Flyer, not a Faller."

"Hard thing to fly," Petrie defended, and we all agreed. "I guess so," I told them, "We can't do it." This got a laugh out of the other two, and while they were laughing, Petrie said something. "Me want to fly, it just so hard to do. Me need help."

Then a brilliant (in my mind) Idea hit me, "Then maybe we could help each other. You could come with us on our journey to the Great Valley, and we could try to help you to fly." The rest of the group agreed with this idea, and Petrie climbed up onto Littlefoot, and said "Okay."

And that was that. In only two days, I had allied myself with three other dinosaurs, and we're now on a journey to find the Great Valley.

* * *

 **So, new chapter up. In all honesty, I figured I could get this chapter up tonight, because I plan on taking tomorrow off. I've also been having slight computer problems (this whole transition to Windows 10 has not been the smoothest, but it went okay), so I'll see if I can alleviate those.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Another two Additions

* * *

As our travels continued, we found ourselves in another little part of the forest. Littlefoot was the first to notice something, and told us to be quiet. Then I took notice of it, and told the rest of them "Stay Low," As we got into a corner.

Out passed a creature you don't normally see around here. It was a four legged creature that looked like a dinosaur, but I was certain it wasn't. It stuck its tongue out and hissed before moving on. Once we were sure it was gone, we came out from the corner.

We continued to walk for a short bit of time, as I thought to myself about what was going on. In only two days, I was torn apart from my family, and started travelling with three different species. It would definitely be considered strange by many of the kids in the herd _'Cera especially...'_

I didn't even know where the heck she went. For all I know, she could've found a way across the big underground, and was with the herd as we speak...

"I'm not a carrier! Get off!" I heard Littlefoot say. I hadn't even been paying attention to what they were doing, and now we were running. Littlefoot continued, saying "You're a flyer. Start flying."

Petrie was scared, evidently, as he was holding onto Littlefoot for dear life. Ducky was trying to encourage him, but it was not working, because he wouldn't even let go of Littlefoot for a second, and was screaming like a madman.

"No can do this!" he said quickly, and continued to hold on. "Come on, Petrie," I said to him, trying to encourage him "You can do it. It's in your blood!"

"Danger!"

With that scream from the scared little flier, I saw what he spoke of. There was a skeleton up ahead, and Littlefoot ran right into it. The group then started to run away, and I made sure to follow. I am still helping all of them after all.

And on the way, we ran into the last Dinosaur I was expecting: Cera.

* * *

Littlefoot crashed into the other Threehorn, both of them falling on the ground. On the bright side, it got Littlefoot out of the skeleton.

"Cera," I said, looking at her on the ground, breathing heavily. Littlefoot came up and asked, "Why are you so frightened?" This made her expression change to annoyed.

"Frightened? Me?" She asked sarcastically, laughing immediately afterword as she walked underneath Littlefoot. "Why are you so frightened."

"We're not frightened. Are we?"

"Not in the least," I answered. Cera then countered with, "Well you should be!" I didn't know what she meant, so I remained silent, and let her continue.

"I could be with the other Threehorns, but I chose to come back to warn you. I met... the Sharptooth!"

"Sharptooth!" Petrie screamed, grabbing onto Littlefoot's neck. "Come on Cera," Littlefoot countered, "Sharptooth is dead! He fell down into the big underground."

"And that's... where he met me."

The moment she said this, Ducky and Petrie both said "Dear Brave Cera," which she responded with "Yes. I am Brave."

"Sharptooth is DEAD!"

"My father told me that Flatheads had very small brains," was her clever retort. Feeling like I should step in (mainly just because I wanted to cut her down to size), I said "Alright, Cera. If you really did meet Sharptooth, then tell us what happened."

"Gladly," was her response (and she said it quite smugly at that), as she got onto a piece of wood, "I was all alone with him in the dark. Just Sharptooth and me. I could hear him breathing." She then began making breathing sounds to emphasize this point. It sounded true so far...

"I could see his one big ugly eye. Looking for ME..."

 _'There it is'_ I thought, _'There's the liar I've come to know.'_ Because Cera definitely had a habit of making stuff up to make herself look the best she could. And as Ducky asked what Cera did, I was just waiting to hear what she had to say...

"I walked right up to him. I looked him straight in the eye, and said... RAAGHH!" With this, she jumped onto the other part of the piece of wood, and sent Ducky flying some other way. "Woah," I said to myself, "Looks like we gotta go find her. Cera, you wanna join?"

"Alright, Troy. And if Sharptooth comes along, I'll face him, just like I did yesterd-"

"Oh please!" I've had enough of that garbage. "Now that's a made up story if I've ever heard one." This got her mad. If there was ever a thing Cera never liked, it was being insulted. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"You're guilty of being one! Because you didn't face Sharptooth last night, and even if he is alive, there's no way you took him on in the Big Underground!"

This most certainly set her off. I was ready when she attempted to charge me, so I simply dodged. I didn't feel like having a fight, so I just said "You just believe what you want, but I know it couldn't have happened."

"I will. Because it definitely happened!"

* * *

A little bit after that was done, Cera and I came to a small agreement: that we would travel with the others, until we found our way back to the heard. As soon as that was done, I heard the voice of Ducky from a distance. And as such, I headed out that way, and quickly found her. She was inside a little patch of grasses, talking to something. In fact, when I got there, I heard her say "You are a Spiketail, so we will call you Spike."

As she came out of the small grasses, they suddenly started moving. Then... disappearing.

A green Spiketail, who had to have just been born (I could tell by the pieces of eggshell by its feet), came out and started eating the grass. He didn't seem to mind that it was yellow and tasteless, just so long as it was edible.

"Um... Ducky," I asked, trying to grasp the situation a bit, "Who is this."

"His name is Spike, and he just hatched. Can he join us?"

"Oh NO!" I heard a voice say from behind me. As it turns out, Cera came with, and was now disagreeing with Spike coming with us. So I figured I'd have to out-argue her. "Oh, come on, Cera. What's your argument this time?"

"It's bad enough that I'm travelling with a Longneck and two Beakfaces, but there's no way I'm travelling with a Spiketail. All those things do is eat, so it'll just slow us down."

"Cera, that's not fair," Littlefoot then joined in the argument. "We need to take care of him," Ducky said, "He's all alone." I was expecting a snappy remark from Cera, but what she said genuinely hit me.

"I don't care. It's not like this whole this whole thing will last. We're all different, so this is bound to fall apart!"

I didn't know why, but hearing this... got to me. The moment she said 'different', I was growing sick of her negativity. She may not know it, but I was... Far more different than any of them, and in the last five years, I've proven to be as normal as any other Dinosaur. And if the last day with Littlefoot was anything to go by, it proved Cera was completely wrong...

"Ducky," I told the little Swimmer, "If you can find a way to get him to follow us, he can come with."

I could tell Cera was about to argue, up until I gave her my signature 'Not Another Word out of You!' Look. This was the end of that argument, and with that, Ducky came back with a berry, and got on Littlefoot's tail. With that, we started moving once more. We had to move as much as we could everyday.

Because, if Cera was right about Sharptooth being alive, we have to stay in front of him. That much is certain.

* * *

 **So, here is my new chapter. It took a while longer than usual because I have been really busy (I'm going back to school the Monday after this chapter is being posted), and I haven't had a lot of time to do stuff lately. But I am going to try to figure out an upload schedule, and continue these fics.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Feast on the Journey

* * *

Never had such a herd as ours existed. A Longneck, two Threehorns, a Swimmer, a Flyer, and a Spiketail. We all knew that while we weren't exactly close, we all had a common goal in mind: Get to the Great Valley, and avoid death.

Following the sun westward, as Turok told me, our group eventually came across a small waterfall. This might be a good sign.

"Treestars grow where there's lots of water," Littlefoot said, noting the small stream of water. "If we follow this water..." He continued, staring intently at the water. Petrie climbed forward on his head, saying, "No green foods here, and I still hungry." A response to which Ducky agreed.

Then, a scent hit my nose, besides that of the water. It was most certainly a familiar one, but I had to ask "Do you guys smell something?" Looking back, I saw Petrie sniffing in the air, with Ducky on his head. "I smell... I smell... I smell... Ducky."

"You smell me?" Ducky laughed at that. After disregarding that, we got moving again, and I continued "It's not the water, and it's definitely not Ducky. I smell... Tree Stars!"

This got the group ecstatic, as we then look out of a cave, we see a large assortment of trees. It most certainly wasn't the place, but it will let us eat. The group was all happy, and Cera was just chanting 'I found it', even though she herself didn't.

And as the ground started shaking, the group was looking back, and the first thing I heard from their mouths was 'Earthshake. We got to get out of here!' Looking back for an instance, the group saw a herd of longnecks, running down this way. This was the only motivation I needed to get the heck out of there.

As the larger dinos broke through the wall, and headed down the hill. The speed that the dinosaurs were eating away at those leaves was incredible. _'Heh,'_ I thought, _'I guess we're not the only hungry dinosaurs out here.'_

"Look at what they're doing," I heard Cera say angrily, "They're so greedy! What about me? I'm still hungry!"

Petrie gets up onto a rock and joins in her complaining, "You hungry?! I empty all the way to the top! Now we at the Great Valley, and still got no Green Foods!"

"Relax, Petrie," I said, attempting to calm him down, "This is no 'Great Valley'."

"Well that's awful! Those greedy jerks! I'm still hungry!"

"We're all hungry, Cera! But standing around whining about it isn't gonna do anything! We might as well see if there's anything left."

"That's so unfair!" Cera continued complaining, and my counter was, "All's fair! Haven't you ever heard of 'Survival of the Fittest?'"

Based on her expression, she hasn't, so I was forced to explain it:

"In our world, only the strong survive. And if you're not strong, you're only hope is to always be one step ahead of your opponents."

* * *

As we got down into the many dead trees, we found only one in particular that had any leaves. "Say Petrie," Littlefoot asked, "Do you think you can... fly up that tree and..."

"No!"

"Oh, do not feel sad, Petrie," Ducky tried to cheer him up, "Many things do not fly. Rocks... trees... sticks... Spike."

Despite how funny that was, Petrie was still scared, but at the same time sad. But I knew one story that I hoped would do the trick:

"If it makes you feel any better, I've tried to fly before. It was a giant failure."

"Oh, yeah," Cera laughed, "I remember that! That was the best!" This got the group curious (if it makes Cera laugh, they obviously HAD to know). So I promised, but after we got the food.

The group devised a plan, involving going one on top of the other to reach the branches. The idea was sound, but unfortunately, as Petrie got a few of the leaves down, Spike started to eat. Standard behavior for a Spiketail. But they only got so few leaves, and that made them sad.

"Oh," Littlefoot said, "Looks like we're going back up."

"No!"

Petrie's response showed just how little he wanted to go up, and that's when I decided to step in "Stand aside," I said to the group, "Let the strongest one in this group have a crack at it."

"But I'm over here!"

I genuinely wanted to roll my eyes at that, but Cera was still very cocky. That much I knew. Anywho, walking backwards a distance, I steeled my nerves, and charged straight at the tree. The next sound that could be heard was a big 'THUD'. And then the leaves fell like snow!

"Eat up, guys! Time for dinner!"

With that, our herd decided to sit down and enjoy some of the leaves. As I invited Cera to eat, she told me "I can get my own green food!" and started ramming another tree right near here.

Littlefoot saw this, and felt that he would be nice to her. Grabbing a mouthful of leaves, he waited until she struck, and threw them. Looking down at the leaves. Cera got a smirk on her face, and said, "See? I can take care of myself! All by myself!"

 _"Yeah, sure you can."_ I thought. And with that, we feast. Cera wouldn't stop, though, as she was walking away, "I'm not afraid to be alone! I know my way!" It was all a matter of if we could ignore her, until of course, she said one thing:

"And I'm not afraid of Sharptooth! I hope he doesn't eat any of you..."

"Don't worry," Littlefoot said, "There isn't any Sharptooth." But even I had my doubts, and the rest of the group had similar doubts. They all went over, and decided they would sleep with Cera. I would've too, but I saw the sadness in Littlefoot's eyes. "There isn't any Sharptooth," he muttered to himself, heading over into a giant footprint... to which I followed.

"I would've thought you of all people would've gone over with Cera..."

"Oh come on, Littlefoot! Like I'm afraid of Sharptooth."

"You believe it too," Littlefoot asked. And while it's true I did kind of believe it, I stuck to my guns, and told him, "I'll believe it when I see it. And besides that, I'm not gonna let you down."

With that, the two of us were able to sleep contently. And as we slept, other members of the group came in and joined us over here. First Ducky, then Petrie, then Spike... then Cera. This enough was proof that while we were different, we could be a good herd. And hey, that's good enough for me.

* * *

 **So, I would've had this up a lot earlier, but I kinda blacked out. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. Oh well. I tried my hardest to make this chapter go for a good amount of words, and I would hope I do a good job. I've also had an idea for another humanized LBT fic, but it's just an idea at this point. We'll see what happens.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A Dangerous Morning and a Path found

 **Hey there everyone. Gusto once more. So, the last chapter of Troy felt a little rushed, and I feel kinda bad for no giving you my best quality. So to make up for it, and to apoligize for forcing you people to wait because I can't figure out a goddamn upload schedule, you're getting two chapters this Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **(Sharptooth's POV)**

The ground would shake with my very footsteps, and the closer I got to where I wanted to be, the more I attempted not to stomp. Even though I wanted to, more than many other things. I wanted those kids to cower in fear, but I knew that they would run. So I would have to be sneaky.

The closer I got to them, the more my mind thinks of my injury. The young Longneck, and his Threehorn friend had worked together to snap a vine. And in doing so, a thorn went into my eye.

The pain had since vanished, but regardless, the fact that they had even injured me was an insult. I would not forget such an insult, and I will enjoy destroying the group, that Threehorn especially.

The threehorn's intelligence reminded me of a legend I had heard. A legend that said that a Flattooth had been reborn from the spirit of a hunter. In fact, if memory serves, the adult Threehorn I fought had told me 'Stay away from him. He's been through enough already!' I do not know what that meant, but I do know that if the Threehorn was just that dinosaur, he might be easy to persuade into doing as I command.

And if not, I will simply destroy him.

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

Waking up early (especially so for me), the first thing I did was to stretch. I would always do this in the morning, to limber up a little. And right now, I was going to need to be limber.

I was certain that this morning would be a good one. There aren't any signs as of right now, that show we're close to the valley, but I could feel it. I could feel it in my bones...

And I also felt something I didn't want to. I felt like something was amiss.

Once again, my instincts were telling me that there was something bad about to happen. It was not unlike the feeling I had when Sharptooth attacked, and the growl I just heard wasn't helping me. My only real hope is for my instinct to be wrong. _'Just this once, please be wrong'_

At that moment, Cera woke up, and looked over the side of the footprint. Her shocked expression had confirmed my suspicion. "What do you see?"

She looked back and said, "We have to move! Everyone, wake up!" She was trying to get the group up like it was a matter of life and death (which it probably was). So I was joining in getting them up. All I told them was, "We have to go!"

"What are you talking about," Littlefoot asked, and Cera started to panic, screaming "He'll eat us!" With that, the group opened their eyes only slightly, and looking up just like I did, there was a large foot coming right for us.

Panic overtook me, as well as the rest of the group, as we scrambled to get out of the footprint in time. No one needed to say anything. We all knew who it was.

"Sharptooth!"

* * *

 **(Sharptooth's POV)**

The children ran for dear life, trying to escape my grasp. No matter how hard they try, they shall not escape. This much I was certain of.

Chasing after the small children just like I did before, I noticed the scents I had smelled before. There was no longer just the two Threehorns and the Longneck. There were two beakfaces and a spiketail as well.

A fine set of appetizers until I get to the valley.

They came to a small wall with a hole in it, still making futile attmepts at escaping. Though upon seeing that they were almost through, something came to mind.

They still have a chance of escaping. But no if I have anything to say about it. The next thing I did was pretty much pounce on the children, but unintentionally pushed them through.

 _'Damn it!'_ I thought to myself. The Threehorns and the Longneck both escaped me once more! I continued to snap, in an attempt to see if they were still there, but they were not. All I can do is keep searching until I get my vengeance.

... After I get my head out of this hole of course.

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

"See," Cera said, "Now will you believe me?" The tone of her voice was a mix of annoyance and shock.

"I'm sorry," Littlefoot said, trying to regain his composure. He was also in a state of shock, and he was almost out of breath. Everyone else looked to be on edge, and that was a good time to step in "It's okay guys. We're safe now."

"No one's safe with you guys."

For the first time ever, one of Cera's snarky remarks actually stung some. I myself was basically unfazed by her insults, as most of them were unjustified. But this one actually had a bit of justification. This entire journey's been dangerous...

"Hey, look!" I then heard Littlefoot say, "That rock looks like a Longneck! Like my mother said!" He wasn't lying. Looking up, I was a giant rock in the shape of a longneck. It was the same that I was told about by my father. This meant we were going the right way!

"This is the way to the Valley!"

Everyone in the group was ecstatic at the sound of this, and we started moving again. There was only one real obstacle in our way: the giant hills. But what if the valley just happened to be right above this ledge? It gave us incentive.

We found our way to the bottom of the cliff, right across from where the sun was rising. And with that, we started our climb.

It was far from easy, and was a long and tedious path. Our energy was quickly depleting, and the the farther we got from the ground, the more our ambition was starting to fade. But we had to keep going. We had to ignore the feeling of hunger in our stomachs, the feeling of our tiring legs, and keep going.

"Come on," Littlefoot tried to reassure us, "You can't quit. What if the Great Valley is just over these rocks?"

 _'I seriously hope he's right'_ There was little left keeping me from not going forward (as my feet were killing me, and I was getting hungry), but I kept going on sheer willpower, and the fact that I promised we'd make it to the valley together.

The closer to the top we got, the closer we were getting to the promised land. At least I hoped that is what it meant. We were right near the end, and my hope was that Littlefoot was right. There was so much to hope for, but it was our only chance.

And as we made our way to the top, we were expecting to see the Great Valley. To see our families, to be able to relax...

But what we were greeted by was a canyon, filled with nothing but bones and sand.

* * *

 **So this chapter is kind of a cliffhanger. Mainly because I wanted to wait to think for the fight between Littlefoot and Cera. But this is just a way of making up for how I have been not writing due to school. But my plan for my new upload schedule is to... write on weekends. Okay? Oaky.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Fight, and the Hero's Return

* * *

 **Hey there! Gusto has returned, and he is REALLY sorry this took so damn long! But I'm back, with chapter 13 of 'Troy'.**

 **If you're wondering why I haven't updated this story in a VERY long while, it's a number of factors. First and foremost, I've had to prioritize school (my grades were kinda bad, and I wanted to get them up), and second, I've been busy on a bunch of other projects. Third, I am gonna be releasing a bunch of other projects later on, and am trying to find a way to work on 'em all.**

 **But the ultimate underlying reason has been (sad, but true) just my own laziness.**

 **But I have absolutely no intention of leaving this story unfinished. And I don't know if anyone still gives a damn about this story, but if anyone does, whenever I can, I will try to get a new chapter up, as well as other chapters on another LBT projects I'm starting on. I'll see what I can do with all of this.**

 **And I promise, I'll never leave you guys hangin' again, especially once I get started on the new projects! But for now, enjoy this (I hope) decent little return to Troy.**

* * *

"This is your 'Great Valley'!?" Cera shouted, her words showing her rage. This was most certainly not the Great Valley. I've never seen it, and I could tell this could've never been the Valley.

"I'm leaving."

I don't blame Cera, but we needed to stay together, "Cera," I told her, "We need to keep following the Bright Circle." But she continued to walk, saying "I'm taking the EASY way for once." Littlefoot then got directly in front of her, his face showing his evident annoyance.

"But it's the WRONG way!"

"Who says," Cera asked snobbishly, to which Littlefoot responded, "My mother!"

"Then SHE was a stupid longneck too!"

Even I couldn't believe this. Cera was being more of a little brat now than ever. Maybe it was the fact that she was exhausted, but even so, her behaviour was inexcusable. "Take it back," Littlefoot told her, and her response was "No way!"

"Take it back!"

"NO!"

Before the verbal argument could go on any longer, Littlefoot had knocked Cera down a cliff. Feeling the need to make sure that neither got hurt, I went in after the two. The moment I was down in the ravine, I heard the sound of another falling in.

I didn't have time to focus on them, though, because my mind was set on stopping Littlefoot and Cera. They were both trying to push eachother away, but Cera's strength proved to overpower Littlefoot. He wouldn't last long if he tried to go against her, so I had to do something about it.

In only a few seconds, Littlefoot had grabbed Cera by the leg, and she had hit him to force him to let go.

The fight dragged on, and it was clear that Littlefoot was not going to win. I had tried at least once or twice to stop them, but Cera just continued to push me aside. But when they were about to charge once more, I got inbetween the two.

The pain of Cera ramming into my side had forced me back, and caused me to run into Littlefoot. We crashed into a wall on the corner of the canyon, and the pain was unbelievable for me. Once my eyes were open again, all I could do was continue to watch them fight...

As it dragged on, I noticed something. The look in Littlefoot's eyes as he fought was different than that of Cera's. It wasn't just a look of anger, but a look of... betrayal. It was as if he was hurt by her comment more than she knew. And on the inside it hurt me to see...

The only thing I could consider even the slightest bit lucky about this whole situation was that the fight ended only a few moments later. Littlefoot was sprawled on the ground, pain evident in his eyes, before he looked away from the direction. "Fine," he told Cera angrily, "Go the wrong way. We never wanted you with us anyway."

I stood back up, and came over to Littlefoot, to make sure he was okay. And as I did, I noticed Cera look back at me. A look that said 'Just stop. This group will never work.' And as much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to agree with her...

 _'No!'_ I thought to myself, steeling my nerves, _'I won't give up on this herd! I can't!'_ But sadly, my resolve was broken when I saw the looks on everyones faces.

"Don't tell me you guys are going with Cera," I said, feeling a horrible sadness starting to well up. They all looked at the ground, before Ducky decided to say, "Well, Troy... Cera's way is easier..."

"I see..." My voice faltered, "Well then... I hope you guys make it to the Valley in the end..." And as I was at the brink of crying, something felt... off about the moment. Looking up to hope that they hadn't left, I see they had already, and I felt a burning sensation in my heart. Looking back, and seeing Littlefoot already making his way up the canyon wall, I ran toward his direction, completely ignoring the feeling.

As we made it halfway up the cliff, I heard something...

 _ **"This ain't you!"**_

Looking around, I see nothing, but receive a splitting headache.

Littlefoot noticed the pain I am in, stopping, and letting me catch my breath. My vision began to fade, as I fell to the ground. The next time I opened my eyes, I saw something that couldn't have shocked me more...

It was a vision of a human. A sight I had not seen in years...

* * *

It had been forever since I had seen a human. This one though, just seemed strangely familiar to me.

He was blonde, with long hair, reaching down to his shoulders, and deep blue eyes. I stared at him, feeling he was slightly familiar, and the one thing that I kept coming back to were those deep blue eyes. Why?

Because they seemed to mirror my own…

But that wasn't the only thing that seemed familiar. He also had many other qualities that seemed to strike me as familiar, in more ways than one. For one thing, his long blonde hair struck something of a sight I knew, and his muscular physique reminded me of that of a warrior.

Or rather, a hunter…

And then it hit me! A sudden jolt ran through my head, causing my headache to worsen. And it only began to go away once the human had spoken…

"Hello there, Troy," He said, even his voice striking me as though I had heard it before. "It's been a while since we've seen each other…"

I was trembling, not knowing who this person was, but feeling a similar burning sensation to the one I felt before. It was as if something was telling me that this situation was all wrong. As if me trembling was against what I was supposed to be doing. And it was clear that this was not lost on the human. I could see it in his eyes.

"What are you doing," He asked, his voice suddenly taking a level in harshness, "I don't wanna see you trembling. That ain't you!" I immediately came to ponder these words, and began to think about it. What did he mean that this wasn't me…?

"You've changed for worse," the human continued, "You were never like this back when you were human. You were strong."

' _Strong,'_ I questioned in my mind, as suddenly, I got a MASSIVE headache, unlike anything I've ever felt. And then, I started to see things. Sights that while faded, seemed to remind me of another time, long ago…

I saw what looked to be the human standing in front of me. He was a fighter of sorts, standing tall against bullies, and never backing down, no matter if the odds were stacked against him. I had wondered why, until it dawned on me JUST who this human was, and why he seemed so familiar…

"It's about damn time," he said, "I knew we were dense, but I didn't think you wouldn't recognize yourself!"

Yup. This was DEFINITELY me…

"So," I asked, finally having the courage to speak, "Why are you here? Did I do something wrong?"

"I want to help you," was my human self's response, "After all, you seem to need a little bit of it, considering the wimp you became." And we were both able to get a laugh out of that, despite it being an insult.

"I just don't know," I said, "I guess… something must have been lost in translation in the shift from you to me. I just don't know what…"

"I think I have an idea…"

"Do tell."

So my human self said, "I think it's… the fact that we died… I think we were traumatized by that, and just seeing Tyrus die was just too much for us. It must have been like a breaking point for us, sad as it is."

…

Wait!

That actually makes sense!

Which is weird since it came from my mouth... and I NEVER say anything sensible.

More to the point, I could see this theory as actually being true. I remember now, that I was a strong and determined guy, not the innocent little kid I had THOUGHT I was, and I was DEFINITELY a lot more awesome than I am right now. And just knowing this fact had made the burning sensation from before arise, more powerful than ever. And now, I'm damn sure I know what it is. It wasn't rage, as I had originally thought!

It was confidence!

This whole time, I was keeping it locked up, and didn't even realize it. I wasn't some scared little kid, and I damn sure wasn't gonna act like it!

And I could see that my human self agreed with this. "Well then," he said, his eyes full of confidence and determination, "I see I've brought back the fight in you! Now use it, Troy!" And as everything started to fade, I heard one last thing from him:

"Be the hero we always knew we could be!"

* * *

My eyes darted open, as I saw Littlefoot staring back at me, worry evident in his eyes. And while that worry isn't exactly necessary, I appreciate it. Alleviating this worry as I stood up, I told him one thing, and one thing only:

"We gotta go back for them."

"What," he asked, shocked at my choice, "Why!? They left us!"

"It's not like we tried to stop 'em," was my retort, my good ol' stubborn-ness kicking in, "We should go help them!"

"Are you taking their side!?"

"Dammit, Littlefoot," I nearly yelled, and the fact that I cursed catching him VERY off guard, "This ain't about sides! We're pretty much a herd, and we need each other! Now, I'm gonna head back and help them, and you're welcome to join me if you want to! But for now, I'm gonna save our herd!"

And with that, I ran toward the direction where I saw them head off to, with a bit of fire in my soul. Now, the old Troy would have been a bit apprehensive about heading toward the volcanic region that they had been heading, but that old me was gone. And it took only a few moments before I saw that Littlefoot joining me, meaning that I had at the very least got him to see things my way…

And that made me UNBELIEVABLY happy to see that I was back to being what I used to be. In an instant, I had gone from being a semi-weak Threehorn, back to having the warrior's mindset I once had. And while I might not consider myself a hero, I knew I was at least doing what was right.

* * *

 **So there you go, that's this chapter. I actually finished this, and am posting it in the middle of class (it's the last day of the semester where I am, so we're not doing anything, and I just have a frick-ton of time to write. Talk about luck of the draw), and I am glad I FINALLY got to do this. And once again, I am EXTREMELY sorry if I disappointed anyone who was waiting for an update for so long.**

 **But that's all behind us, and I will NEVER again allow myself to leave you guys hanging. And I don't know if anyone is still caring about this, but I will be making with the continuing of the writing of this and the writing of the sequel to 'The Search for Paradise' (and in case anyone was wondering about that, I still have plans to write it. But I told myself 'I HAVE to get this moving again before I can begin on that').**

 **So, yea. Read, Review, and all that other good stuff. Be back soon.**


	14. Chapter 14

**(3** **rd** **Person POV)**

Cera made her way down the path she had chosen to take, with Ducky and Petrie on her back, and Spike following closely behind. The four young dinosaurs had decided to take the easy way, and were now on their own.

Cera was considering herself the unofficial leader of this group, but was most certainly not acting like it. She had been paying no mind to the fact that the others seemed to be following close behind, and was only focused on getting herself to her herd. And true, she had been wondering where Troy had decided to go, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around. She was too proud for that.

Since she decided to take 'the easy way', she had felt something inside of her, as if it was telling her to go back, but she was refusing to listen to it. She was a Threehorn, and she had to stand her ground on anything she did… or at least that's what her father told her.

But if that was the case, then why did she feel so bad?

Before this whole ordeal had begun, she and Troy had never really been close. She knew him okay, but they really didn't like to be around each other. And it wasn't hard to see why. She saw Troy as an annoyance, due to the fact that he was always seemed to be in the way. Heck, since the journey for the herd to find the Great Valley began, Troy had fought with her, called her out on her story, and now, he had pretty much abandoned her. How exactly was she supposed to feel?

' _Why do I feel bad,'_ Cera questioned in her mind, _'He left me! We're supposed to be on the same side, and yet he's siding with that Longneck! Why would he do that?'_

It was quite the conundrum for the little Threehorn, and it had taken up all of her focus. She didn't have time to focus on anything else, except for what was in front of her.

She came to a small gap over a pool of goo, which was easily able to be jumped across. As she was about to do exactly that, the earth trembled a bit, as the Smoking Mountains readied for more fire. But as the rumbling stopped, she leapt over the gap with ease. And this was where her lack of focus made for a problem…

Without warning, Petrie's grip on her leg loosened, and he fell down into the goo. She hadn't noticed in the least, even when Petrie began screaming. Petrie was thrashing around in the goo, hoping to get out of it, before screaming only one thing:

"DUCKY, SPIKE! HELP!"

And luckily for him, two heard him, and they were coming in as fast as they could…

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

As me and Littlefoot ran with vigor in our step, trying to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible, I heard the familiar voice of Petrie, calling out for help. And at the same time, I heard another voice calling out for help; the voice of Ducky. All three of them must be in danger, so I looked to Littlefoot, and told him "Let's split up. We'll save 'em twice as fast!"

"On it," He said, as we both quickened our pace, the thought of protecting our herds fueling our drive to help them.

I headed out, and was searching for where Ducky and Spike were, but I heard screaming coming from a nearby cavern. Screaming that sounded like Cera. Now, at this case, any normal dinosaur who knew her would have left and went for another, but I had to help. Regardless of if we got along or not, I considered her my friend. And considering she was this close, that meant I had to help.

' _Sorry Littlefoot,'_ I thought, as I headed in, searching for Cera, _'I hope you can handle the others.'_ And in I headed, searching for her. And once I got in, all I could think to myself was _'Hot Damn!'_

* * *

Cera was running from a group of Domeheads who were trying to crush her with their heads. And all the while, she was screaming bloody murder, calling for help. And due to the fact that I had my fighter's instincts back, I was totally ready to.

"HELP!" She once again screamed. Seeing this as somewhat of a cue, I charged in, and hit one of the Domeheads right in it's side as she dodged. But sadly, it did little more than faze him momentarily, but it did allow Cera to get away, and then over to me.

"Troy," she questioned, clearly confused that I was here. But I cut her off from what she was gonna say, by simply saying, "No time to explain! Come on, we gotta go!" And with nothing left to say, we tried to run from them. Easier said than done though…

These annoying Domeheads were too damn stubborn, and the worst part was that I could barely do any damage to them even if I want to. The first time I get the chance to use my old head-first mentality in years, and I can't even use it well. It's starting to piss me off!

But that wasn't the point. The point was that the Domeheads were not gonna give up, and there was next to nothing I could do about it. All we could do was continue to avoid.

Which is exactly what we did. We dodged from being caught between two of their headbutts, but Cera had lost her footing, and tumbled to the ground. The three headed in, looking like they were going for the kill, so I got in front of Cera took up my fighting stance, with my feet planted firmly on the ground, and my snout pointed to the ground. If I was going down, I was going down fighting.

But as the three Domeheads looked as though they were gonna strike, they were interrupted by a shrill noise. Looking back, I saw a horrible monstrosity, looking to have a long nose, black skin, and horns. It was freaky as all heck, and coming right towards us. If there was anything good about the situation, it was that the Domeheads started to run away like a bunch of cowards. But that was about all I could say was good about this situation.

The creature was standing right above us, and grabbed Cera with its tail, as she screamed "DUCKY! PETRIE! SPIKE! HELP!" And I was ready to attack. Ready, until of course, I heard the familiar voice of a certain swimmer coming from the monster.

"Cera," Ducky's voice said, "It IS us." And at that moment, the tar had started to come off of them, and I realized what the heck was going on. And I could tell by the look on Cera's face that she was just as relieved as I was. But he expression immediately turned from relief to annoyance as she heard them begin laughing. And even I couldn't help but break out laughing at this. It was hilarious!

"Oh my gosh, guys," I said, laughing uncontrollably at this, "That was the BEST! You really had me thinking you were some big monster!" I was enjoying the heck out of this, but Cera clearly wasn't. Especially as she jerked herself out of Littlefoot's grip, landing on the ground in a puddle of goo.

"I knew it was you all along," she practically screamed, getting up from where she was, "I knew! I did!"

"Yeah," I responded, still chuckling as she struggled to stand with the tar, "Sure you did!"

"You should have seen your face," Petrie laughed as well, as I stopped, and saw how annoyed she was. Giving her signature bratty attitude, she yelled again, and said "Get out of my way!" Before stomping off. However, she didn't look where she was going, and landed in another goo puddle. Falling on her face. I was about to laugh again at the sight of that, but I think the rest of the group was doing enough of that…

As Cera raised her head, and walked off in a huff, this time walking smack-dab into a pointy rock. Once again, I got the urge to laugh, but once again, I felt the group was doing plenty of that. Once again, the fellow Threehorn gave another snobbish gesture before walking down a slope, and heading toward a waterfall.

And for the first time since this journey started, I felt bad for Cera.

"Hey guys," I said, looking over to the others, who still had some goo left on them, "Go clean up. I'm gonna go see if I can get Cera back to our side." To this, Littlefoot looked at me hesitantly, asking "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Trust me," I reassured him, "I've known Cera longer than any of you. I think I know how to work with her." And he could see the look in my eyes, so all he could do was nod in approval. And with that done, I headed off, pondering exactly what I could do to help. I did know I could get Cera to forgive them for laughing at her, and I knew I could get her to come back with the group, and if I tried, I could probably even get her to apologize to Littlefoot for going against him...

But the real question was 'Is there any way I can get her to see things my way?'

* * *

 **Now, here we have another new chapter. Now obviously, with how many projects I've taken up (and plan to take up in the near future), I will not be able to get a new chapter up every 2-5 days like when I first came to 'Fanfiction', but I will not be going back on my word about not leaving you guys hanging. So if this story, or any of the 'Land Before Time' stories I plan to make, have not been updated in over a month, there are only three possibilities:**

 **1) I'm dead.**

 **2) I'm really busy with a lot of stuff in my normal life (school, work, my clubs, my training, etc.).**

 **3) REALLY bad Writer's Block (But considering my dreams consist of wrestling T-Rexes in volcanoes, and giving speeches naked [but being a resounding success], option 3 is the least likely to EVER be a possibility. I don't even know why I'm listing it, other than paranoia.)**

 **But yea, now that's the end of this chapter. As always, read, review, and all that good stuff. If you need me, I'll be busy killing demons. *Pulls his gun-sword out of the ground* Until next time!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, everyone! I'm back from my Demon hunt, and I got LBT on the brain!**

 **My dad got us 'Journey of the Brave', and I just watched it with my little sister, and I gotta say: For a series that was dead for about 8-ish years, it revived VERY nicely! But since it's new, I'm not gonna say more than that (due to the fact that I prefer not to spoil stuff for people who have not seen it [despite the fact that I love getting spoliers myself]). I will say, however, that I only had one thing to get used to, and it was about the new voice actors (and new voice actors don't count as spoilers, since it kinda should'a been a 'no duh!'). But other than that, it was GREAT!**

 **But straight to the chase, my mind is now mostly focused on LBT, so I am gonna bust out a new chapter. And I wanna say that this this chapter is gonna have a scene that is kinda inspired by 'Brother Bear'. I just wanna say that.**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, here is a new chapter for Troy!**

* * *

I made my way over to the waterfall, where I saw Cera had headed for. This was going to be one of my biggest challenges, but I would have to try my damnedest to make sure it worked. Knowing Cera, she would resist as much as she could, but there was no way that was gonna stop me. Not anymore…

As I approached, seeing the familiar yellow scales of my fellow Threehorn, I saw something that was unfamiliar. She looked to be sobbing, and that was catching me a bit off guard. I had never seen Cera cry before. But regardless, my goal was to make sure she got back to our side. Well, here goes nothing…

"Hey," I said, slowly coming closer to her, until I came to a stop, and sat down next to her, "You okay?" She shook her head slowly, before asking a question I didn't think I'd hear from her:

"Why did you help me?"

I was surprised to hear this come out of her mouth. Wouldn't such an answer be obvious? "It's because you're part of my herd."

That answer came smoothly, and without a moment's hesitation. It was truly what I was feeling, and I was not lying when I said it, yet I felt like there was more to it. Something about saying it just felt like I wasn't giving the full answer. It was bugging me…

"So what," She said, trying to be angry, "Was it pity? I didn't need you!"

She was finally starting to sound like the Cera that I knew, but I knew that was just a front. So I pushed forward, calmly saying "Judging from what I saw, I'd say you did. You don't have to act so proud around me, you know. I won't tell anyone."

Her expression softened a little, before she asked me "You promise you won't tell anyone?"

"If I let it slip, I'll let you beat me senseless."

She giggled at this, before saying "Okay." With that, she just sat down, and I said, "Now I wanna know: What's going on with you?" At first, all Cera did was shrug, before saying "I guess… I just was annoyed at Littlefoot. This whole journey, we've been heading out to some Valley that might not even exist, and… I don't know. I guess I just got upset when our hopes were so high."

I could understand this, as we were all tired and hungry, and we were so hopeful that we had made it to the Valley. And in a sense, Cera wasn't the only one at fault here, since Littlefoot and I had gotten our hopes up so much. I figured that's something she'd like to hear, so that's exactly what I told her, and when I did, she only began to look more upset.

"No," she told me, "It's not your fault. I was the one who was so mean. I was just so sick of waiting, and I was so mad at you guys…"

"Why at us?"

"Uh... well... I guess I was..."

I was unable to clearly understand what she next said, but I could have sworn I heard her say 'jealous'.

"Jealous, you say?" That would most certainly be a first for Cera, to be jealous of me, or heck, any of the others of the group (Threehorn Pride and all that). And it was clear by the look in her eyes that it was true.

"Yes, okay!?" She practically yelled, "I was jealous of you and Littlefoot. The others were listening to you, and we were doing okay! I just… wished that I could be able to do something like that."

"We're only good leaders because I face challenges head-on, and because he never gives up. Alone, we'd never be capable of anything more than getting ourselves to the valley."

"That's a lie," she said, "I mean, together, you two got a swimmer, a flyer, and a spiketail to come with us. And to top it all off, you got ME to join in. I wasn't gonna stay, but I saw how you were leading, and I was… impressed. I mean, how is it you can handle a herd like this?"

That's a good question. One I didn't really know the answer to yet. But I tried to at least give her something, by saying "We've all the same goal. We all wanna make it to the Great Valle-"

"That's not what I mean!"

I paused right then and there, as she continued. "What I mean is," she hesitated, "How is it that you're okay with this. We're Threehorns. We're not supposed to be friends with Longnecks, or Beakfaces, or Spiketails. How is it that you do it so easily? We're not supposed to be with other herds."

And now it all made sense. Cera was still uneasy about all of us working together like a herd. An idea struck me the moment I heard this, and it may have been one of the best ideas I've had since this damn journey began. If this doesn't snap her out of this, nothing will…

"Do you wanna know the honest answer to that," I asked her, "Do you want to know how I've been able to work so easily with different species of Dinosaurs?" And after I said this, she nodded her head fervently. This was my chance. Well, here goes nothing…

"Because I've lived through this since the day I've hatched."

It was clear she didn't understand, but I had captured her attention, because she asked me what I meant by that. Part one was over, and now it was time to start the important part.

"Cera… I need to tell you a story of a Hunter, a Threehorn, and most importantly, of a man with the mind of a Dinosaur…"

And here it was… I had realized too late that I was risking a lot by telling her this story. It was undoubtedly the biggest risk I could possibly take, and I wasn't even sure this would work. If she didn't believe me, she'd think I'm crazy, and if she did, then there's still a chance that she'd not even join our cause once again. This most certainly wasn't 'Here goes nothing.'

I'd say this is more of a 'Here goes everything'…

"A long five years ago, before you and I were even born, a Hunter had appeared out of nowhere. He was a two legged creature, holding a sharp object on top of a stick, and looked ready to attack. Tyrus, the former leader of our herd, had chased after the creature, hoping to chase it out of their area…"

That part was already getting to me, but I had to stay strong. But that doesn't change the fact that it was a painful subject to talk about. _'Keep strong, Troy,'_ I steeled my nerves. _'Keep strong.'_

"But the Hunter was one step ahead of Tyrus, and… killed him. But upon seeing the Threehorn's body, the Hunter immediately felt regret, and asked for forgiveness. And as if some great unknown force was listening in, he himself died."

Cera was looking at me, a bit disturbed at what she was hearing, but also looking a bit stunned by what she was hearing. I wanted to stop myself, but I knew I couldn't. She had to hear this…

"The Hunter's spirit still exists in this world, living on in the body of a Threehorn that was born that same day…"

And here comes the difficult part…

"That Threehorn… was me…"

* * *

 **(Cera's POV)**

I couldn't believe what I was hearing…

Troy was telling me that he was a Hunter in his last life, and that he killed the leader that came before Turok. I wanted to call him crazy, but I couldn't…

"Are you serious," I asked (not in a mean way. I just wanted to know), "You were… not a Threehorn?" He nodded at this statement, and told me "Not only that. I was also part Sharptooth." It was hard to believe, and I wanted to say he was lying, but I couldn't.

Everything he said felt so real. Even though it sounded crazy, I felt like it was true…

"And now that you know this," Troy continued, taking me away from my inner turmoil for a bit, "You know how much I had to re-learn. I had the mind of a Hunter, and had to learn to get along with others I had never known. That's why I can work so well with other species. I never understood that barrier, because I thought if I can do that, then what's stopping me from befriending a Longneck, or a Spiketail? I didn't want to think close-mindedly like that. After all, we are all Dinosaurs here."

That was a big wake-up call.

He was right. We are all Dinosaurs. We're all leaf eaters, trying to find our families. But this whole time my dad had told me that we're all different. But if what Troy says is true, then maybe we can all get along…

Maybe we're not so different deep down…

"But that's just my opinion," Troy told me, "And I want you to know this: The whole time that this journey has happened, I've been hoping to get you to warm up to the others. After all, I think you and Littlefoot would be adorable together."

… I wasn't sure what to make of that, but he at least believed in me. That made me feel good inside.

"Now," He continued, "I'm gonna take my leave, and head toward the rest of the group. I really want you to join us. So once you've got this all settled, I hope you'll join us. See ya later."

And with that, he headed off, and I was left to think. I knew what I wanted, so I had to stop looking at things so… what was that one word Troy said? 'Close-mindedly'?

Yea, that was it. I need to stop doing that.

Troy was right, and I needed to make up for what I did. I had never thought I would say Troy was right, but he was. I was wrong, and now I need to sort this out. It was going to be hard for me to change my view on everything I knew, but I know I can.

If Troy could do it, then so can I!

* * *

 **And that is that chapter done, in a fashion that I can only hope is good.**

 **Now, I do wanna say that this chapter just kinda... flowed for me. It's like one of those situations where one idea can make an entire scene a thousand times better. And I would say that was a similar case to what happened when I was inspired to have Troy tell Cera the story (which was the scene that was inspired by Brother Bear. It was inspired by the scene where Kenai told Koda what happened to his mother). And while it was a bit of a long shot, I can say it was a good idea in the end.**

 **Also, I wanna explain one little thing. It was when Troy said Cera and Littlefoot would 'look adorable together'. In case anyone is curious, Troy was pretty much shipping Littlefoot and Cera there. It was meant to be teasing, but it was there. And if I do make this a series, then expect A LOT of that from Troy.**

 **Also, with LBT on the brain, I will likely be doing a lot more writing for this soon. And with that...**

 **Until next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, I'm back! And with how many projects I'm working on at one time (and how many I want to release in the next year), you'd think I want to work myself into the grave!**

 **Haha! But in all seriousness, I've been theorizing about ways to alleviate my scheduling issue, and now, I have a system that I think will work (that is also a prime example of 'The best solution is usually the simplest.') With this system, I'm going to work on a certain set of fanfics on a certain week of every month (based around what series it's a fanfic of).**

 **And now (if this system proves efficient) the first week of every month is going to be focused on 'The Land Before Time'. So, here is your new chapter of 'Troy', everyone!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The walk back to the others was a quick one, taking no longer than five minutes at the most. They hadn't traveled very far, so catching up wasn't hard. They were swimming in a small lake, obviously enjoying the feel of the water. And I can't exactly blame them. It's been a while since we've been able to swim.

"Hey guys," I said, walking up slowly. They took notice of me, asking how it went. If I had shoulders capable of doing so, I would've shrugged, but I had to settle for "I think I might have gotten through to her." While he wouldn't admit it, I could tell by the look in his eyes that Littlefoot was happy to hear that. He may be angry at her, but if they could get past that, they could be good friends (at least that's what I think).

"So," Ducky asked, "What do we do now? Huh? Huh?"

I sighed, feeling my lungs empty themselves of air, before breathing in through my nose. "We'll just have to keep going," I told them, "There's no telling how far away the Valley is, so we have to use our time wisely… but I'm sure we'll make it, and be back with our families in no time!"

The others nodded wholeheartedly, warm smiles adorning their faces. They looked as though they had total confidence in my plan, and it made me feel amazing. Like I was a true leader…

*GRRRRR!*

The others heard it too. We all looked around, searching for whatever it was that made that sound. And as it turns out, my guess was right.

"SHARPTOOTH!"

My sentiments exactly, except mine would have been said angrily, rather than out of fear. "I'm getting really sick of that guy," I muttered under my breath, before Littlefoot spoke up. "Then let's get rid of him for good." He turned and looked at the water, before saying "We'll coax him into the deep water. He can't swim with those scrawny arms."

That was actually a very smart observation. I was slightly disturbed that Littlefoot was thinking of drowning him, but then again, it is survival of the fittest. And I wanted to survive, that much was for sure. And so, my inner tactician came out, and I began to plan with him.

"So," I began, looking around, until my eyes caught sight of a very large boulder, "Me, you, and Spike can push that rock on his head." Littlefoot nodded, saying "That'll make sure he falls into the water. Petrie, whistle when he's where the water gets dark."

This was actually kind of exciting, coming up with this strategy with Littlefoot. I mean it was still kind of disturbing, considering we were basically planning a murder, but that's beside the point. We had a master plan, and all it was missing was one little thing:

"Now we need some bait."

There were enough of us to make this plan work, thankfully enough. We all looked over to our swimmer friend, but she could tell what that look meant.

"Me?" Ducky questioned, "Oh no. No no no no."

"Come on," I reassured her, "You'll be fine. That big lug's low on energy, so there's no way he can catch you, especially once you go out to the water." She still looked hesitant, but all she asked was "Are you sure?"

"As sure as my name is Troy!"

* * *

 **(Sharptooth's POV)**

I wandered into a small cave, my sniffer telling me that there was prey somewhere. I was near drained, only having survived due to finding other creatures to eat, but that didn't change my mind. I was going to hunt them down and kill them.

I knew those kids were here, and at this point, I wasn't even hunting them for sustenance anymore, only hunting them for the desire to see them dead. I was a hunter, and they were the hunted. Heck, now I don't even care about finding out if that Threehorn was truly a hunter. At this point, I just want him and his friends dead, and there's nothing more to it…

They've been eluding me since the beginning, and I have had enough of it.

Searching the cave, I could smell a certain scent. The scent of Swimmer; no doubt that little one from the Threehorn's group. And this was solidified by the fact of me hearing a scream that I recognize from the last attack I did on that group. Looking back, I caught a glimpse of her hiding behind a rock.

The perfect time to set up a sneak attack.

Despite my large size, I had the ability to be quiet when I desired to. And now, I could catch the small Swimmer. She may be less than even a morsel, but getting rid of all of them was my main goal.

I jumped her when she wasn't looking, but she narrowly avoided me. And I began to snap at her, in an attempt to catch her.

Oh, here we go again…

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

Sharptooth was chasing Ducky out of the cave he was in, as I had expected he would. And just as I was sure he would, he lost his footing while trying to get her, and fell toward the shallow water of the lake. He quickly got back up however, and began to look for her.

But what he didn't know is that she went down underwater, and was making her way toward us, just as she was supposed to. Everyone was in position, and we were all set for what was to come.

The plan was set into action as of now.

* * *

 **So now, I have a system that seems to be working (as I have this chapter done, after working on it all of Leap Day yesterday), and will hopefully continue to work. Now, I can post work at a much faster pace hopefully, and get consistent updates, but with just enough room to breathe.**

 **And it works, because now, I have seven days a month to work on whatever I'm working on, and I don't have to force a deadline. For example, if I wanted to post, say… the sequel to 'The Search for Paradise' this month, I'd have until this Sunday to do so, before I'd have to move onto another set of fanfics. And that is a good call on my part, because it'll probably lighten the load for me (I don't know why, but life is just kicking my ass lately).**

 **But anyway, you will notice that this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but that is actually just kind of so I can show off my new system. And then the climactic battle with Sharptooth is coming up next.**

 **Until next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Ducky!"

The others were terrified to see that Sharptooth was in the water with our little Swimmer friend, and I won't deny that even I'm getting a little worried. The only thing was that we couldn't be worried. We had a mission...

Sharptooth was down in the lake, roaring, and searching the waters, hoping to find Ducky, but his attempts were futile, to say the least. And as Littlefoot and Spike waited for the signal, I looked down, to search for where the big bastard was. So, I came down to a ledge, and kept a close eye on his location.

He was right where we needed him to be, and Petrie had given the signal, just like he was supposed to. Meaning we had to be quick, if we were to pull this off...

That made me immediately regret my choice to come down to a faraway ledge to watch the big oaf.

"Push, Spike," I heard from Littlefoot, "Push with all your might!" It made me feel better that he was taking up a leadership role, but that didn't take away from the fact that he needed my help. So I had to get back now.

I heard a slight thud along the way, along with a growl from Sharptooth, and Petrie laughing hysterically. Then, I felt a tremor. Looking back, I saw that Sharptooth had bashed his head into the cliff where Littlefoot and Spike were, and Petrie had fallen off.

"Petrie!"

I was so busy worrying about him, that I didn't even feel my own footing slip until it was too late. I was falling off of the cliff, and about to land in the water, all because of one miscalculation...

Littlefoot and Spike were going to need to do this without me.

* * *

 **(Sharptooth's POV)**

I snapped at the small Flyer, assuming that he would fall right into my mouth. Of course, he would be nothing more than a mere morsel, but at this point it was better than nothing. But instead of catching the small creature between my teeth, it fell on my nose, before I fell back down.

It was screaming something that I didn't understand, and it seemed to be happy, and possibly even cocky. Just because it survived one bite, it thinks it's on top of the world. The welp will quickly learn that getting arrogant is the last thing you want to do against me.

My attention was quickly taken away from the Flyer by the fact of how close the little Swimmer was. I immediately turned to go after her, only to have my snout crash into the cliff again.

And it was beginning to piss me off, as I realized that the kids were outwitting me.

But no matter. They won't last long enough...

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

My mind could barely process what was going on. First off, Petrie fell on to Sharptooth, and had inadvertently learned how to fly because of it. And then, the ugly bastard had began to go after Ducky again, and I could see Petrie preparing to go after Sharptooth. It was confusing right off the bat, but I didn't seem to care. At this point, my mind was not needed.

My body was going on autopilot, as I jumped from rock to rock, before making my way over, and bashing him in the side. I don't care if he is the most fearsome predator in the land. I will not be allowing him to eat one of my friends.

He didn't seem fazed by it, but it did take is attention off of Ducky, if only for a second. And in that same second, Petrie flapped his wings with vigor, and dive-bombed Sharptooth. Now's my chance to make it up the cliff again.

I ran as fast as I possibly could, and found myself scaling the cliffs in now time at all. I could hear Ducky in fear, and I could see Sharptooth, jumping up, and landing right on the edge of the cliff. Littlefoot and Spike were still pushing with everything they had, and I was ready to go in and bash the rock down. That was, of course, until I heard a familiar shriek, and saw Cera by my side.

"I'm coming," we both shouted in unison, as we ran up, the rock getting closer and closer by the second. "Cera, Troy," I heard Littlefoot say, "You're back!"

Damn straight we were back, and now, it's time to finish the plan. With the combined might of two Threehorns, a Longneck, and a Spiketail, we were finally able to bring down the boulder, and the pesky predator with it!

In our excitement, we hadn't even realized who was missing, until we heard a panicked "Help!" coming from down below.

* * *

 **(Sharptooth's POV)**

I can't believe it...

Those kids beat me...

I can't swim, and they must have know that. That's how they were certain leading me to the deeper part of the lake would be able to kill me off. So here I am... about to drown, and left genuinely shocked.

I had always thought that I was unbeatable... that there was nothing out there that could kill me, or anything that could beat me for that matter. It was appear as though I had never been more wrong in my life. And I am certain that it was because of that brown Threehorn...

There was no doubt in my mind that he was not of this world. He had outmaneuvered, outplanned, and just straight-up beat me in everything. There was no way he could have been able to pull it off... unless he wasn't a dinosaur to begin with.

But whatever the case, I can safely say that he had beaten me, and even though he was the reason I am about to die, I daresay I... respect him...

* * *

 **(Troy's POV)**

We had done it... we had defeated Sharptooth... we had done what no other dinosaur had done before...

Yet we can't feel happy...

We lost Petrie. Even though we were able to defeat Sharptooth, it came at a cost. We lost Petrie to the bastard, and to top it all off, we haven't even found the Great Valley. It was a win-lose-lose scenario, and we're the ones who lost worst...

"Poor Petrie," I heard Ducky say, as tears began to sting at my eyes. I hated the idea of dinos being killed, and even though I knew it was how the world works, but I still feel upset that I couldn't do more to make to where he could survive.

I felt like I failed...

We walked away, forced to move forward. Ducky lagged a little behind, and I could hear Ducky sniffling, the only thing coming out of her mouth was "Poor Petrie", as she began to cry. At the same time, I could feel tears stinging at my eyes...

"STOP!"

My heart was suddenly lifted from the darkness, as I heard that little voice. "You... go... without... Petrie...?"

Ducky's spirits were instantly lifted, as I heard Ducky go back and exclaim "Petrie! You're safe!" Followed by a barrage of 'Yeps'. It was delightful to see him alive, but that still left a single question...

Where was the Great Valley?

As I made my way forward, up the mountain, with Littlefoot taking another path to search. We were high enough to where we could see clouds, but there was something off about them. The clouds were quickly becoming different shapes, akin to that of a dinosaur. To me, the clouds I were seeing looked like a Threehorn...

 _ **"Troy,"**_ I heard a voice say. It was strong and commanding, yet calm at the same time. I knew I recognized it, and quickly realized...

It was Turok!

 _ **"Troy..."**_

Immediately, my head began to hang low, and I felt my resolve breaking. "I'm sorry, Turok," I whispered, "I tried my hardest to make it... but I don't think I can do it. I've failed." I could feel him giving me a disappointed stare, even though he was just a mass of clouds. And I could understand why.

I was admitting defeat, more to myself than anyone else.

 _ **"Troy... You have not failed... there is simply one last leg to your journey. And it is the easiest..."**_

The clouds began to blow away in the wind, and on instinct, I followed. I knew already that he wanted me to follow him. And even though I wasn't certain where he was leading me, I knew it had to be good.

Along the way, I could hear Littlefoot screaming "Don't go, Mother!" He must have been following a similar trail to me. We met up, apparently following the same path, and stopped dead in our tracks when we saw what was happening. The Longneck and the Threehorn were both on the same cloud. And as we looked down from the cloud, we saw a land veiled in darkness, until a ray of light came through, quickly revealing to us the land. And I could feel it in my heart, that we knew where this was...

"The Great Valley..."

* * *

 **And now, we have finally gotten to the climactic battle. I had gotten to make Troy fit in well, and I got to write for Sharptooth's POV (which I decided to take a slightly different approach for), and I got to the most important point of the story. It's almost done, and we have almost made it to the very end of this story.**

 **And this chapter I feel was great, and I might be able to make more amazing chapters soon.**

 **Also, this chapter may or may not have been completely and utterly rushed, so I might be forced to go back and re-write it.**

 **But that's all I will say for now. So as always, read, review, and all that good stuff.**

 **Until next time!**


	18. Final Chapter

Chapter 18: The Promised Land Reached

 **Hey guys, sorry this took so much longer than I thought it would. My computer problems were not done, but that will not stop me. I guess my whole 'write double this week' plan fell flat, but as I won't give up on LBT, I am to post once again, because I made the promise to myself that I would at least get one chapter of each up. So, here we go.**

 **Additionally, I said that the last chapter might get a re-write, but I decided against that for now, because laziness.**

 **And with that out of the way, I continue onward. Here you go...**

 **The next chapter of Troy**

* * *

This was it…

It had to be it…

There was no way it COULDN'T be it…

There, at the bottom of this cliff, was the most beautiful sight in existence. It was a land of green, massive in size, and unrivaled in protection. There was a massive gathering of dinosaurs in the valley itself, ranging from Longnecks, to Threehorns, to Flyers, to Swimmers, to… well, virtually any other leaf eater you could imagine. But most importantly, most everyone seemed happy

There wasn't a shred of doubt in my mind…

"The Great Valley."

My mind wasn't able to process anything past that right now, knowing that we were finally where we were trying to be. And the best part was that it was impossible for it to NOT be like that. Turok said that this was the last leg of our journey, and that this would be the easiest. And that meant only one thing…

"We made it… We finally made it…"

Acting on full instinct, my mind went to telling the others of this. But not two seconds after turning around, did I see Littlefoot was already way ahead of me. "Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike!" He yelled through the path we had taken "Over here!" Within only a second or two, I heard the pitter-patter of their footsteps.

"C'mon guys," I encouraged, as I heard them getting closer, "We're here! We made it!" And as I said that, their pace quickened to an extreme. They finally made their way down the corner, and ran over to where we were, where they were greeted with the same beautiful sight that had been gracing us.

"Littlefoot, you found it!" I heard Ducky exclaim, "Yep, yep, yep!" And I could see him about to say something about it, but I gave him a look of 'You did it', and he simply decided to say "We did it. We did it together!"

And it was definitely enough to bring back that burning feeling of confidence again.

"Take a good look guys," I said, excited at this turn of events, "Somewhere down there is our families. We just gotta find them." Of course, I didn't realize until I saw the slightly pained expression on Littlefoot's face, that I had made a slight error in my choice of words. I would have to be careful about that in the coming days. I want Littlefoot to be happy…

"It's okay Littlefoot," I heard Cera say (which shocked me), "We made it. She wanted you to, and now we're here." And apparently, hearing that coming from the biggest brat of the group brought his spirits up a slight bit. That was at least a start.

"She's right, Littlefoot," I told him, to reaffirm the point, "And to top it off, we made it here, and beat the biggest danger to us and our families, and avenged those who he took down. We made it to where we needed to be, and I bet they're looking down on us with a smile."

And while it didn't work entirely, I could see his mood had brightened immensely. That made my mood go up to a massive degree. It warmed my heart to see that he was feeling pretty happy again, and to see that Cera was at least trying to be nice. After all the stuff I've seen, it was a pleasing sight to see them getting along.

So, I decided to take the look of excitement as a sign to head down while their spirits were high once again. And head down we did, with little prompting, besides "Now let's go!" We headed down the cliffside, and made our way down to this Promised Land.

I couldn't see it, but I could tell that our collective excitement was growing the closer we got to the Valley. It looked to be a true paradise, with lush greens, clear water, and family. I don't know how you could get much better than that.

With our minds set on getting down to this paradise, we finally made it down the cliffside, and began running over to where we all wanted to be. I personally couldn't see my family just yet, but the others were able to see theirs, and were heading to them.

I first saw Ducky heading over to her family. I could see the parents were excited to have their daughter back, and I could hear her say to her siblings "This is our new brother, Spike." It definitely was a pleasing sight to see that the others looked to be enjoying their new brother. That was the first happy sight.

Next, I saw Petrie head over to a family of Flyers, which I could tell was his off the bat. "Mama, I a flyer!" I heard him say, as he flapped his wings with enough force to make a great gust. And it was clear that the mother and the siblings were overjoyed to see Petrie flying. That was the second happy sight.

After that, I was greeted by the sight of Cera being reunited with her father. I couldn't hear it well, but I could tell he was extremely grateful to have her back, and while part of me had various questions, another part of me was simply delighted to see she was capable of happiness as well. That was the third happy sight.

Lastly, I saw Littlefoot, who headed over to two elderly longnecks, who I could only assume were his grandparents (based on the stories he has told me). I could see how happy they were to have their grandson back, and it warmed my heart to see Littlefoot smile like that. And that was the fourth happy sight.

And the fifth, and final happy sight?

Well…

"TROY!"

I looked over to my right, where I could see a sight that I hadn't seen in a few days, and was… I wasn't even sure what to call it. Ecstatic, maybe? Well, regardless of what you call it, I was feeling it and more, because of what I had seen. A sight that I had been hoping to see since the very beginning:

My family.

"Son," I heard my dad yell, "Over here!" And to say I didn't waste any time would have been an understatement. I bolted to get to them, with what felt like raw excitement coursing through me. It wasn't like when I would run to them before; this time, the sense of excitement to see them was more than I could stand.

I could see the smiles on their faces, and that, to me, was one of the happiest sights.

When I finally made it over, I was brought into a loving nuzzle by my mother. "Oh Troy," she said, more joyous than I'd heard her in days, "We were so worried we'd lost you. It's so good to have you back." And I could say the same to them.

"We knew you'd make it back," my dad said, "But… did Turok make it with you?" At that, I could feel a bit of sadness enter my mind. All I could do was give a pained expression, and say "He didn't make it with us. But… I bet he's looking down on us from the great beyond with a smile."

And for some reason, I got the feeling that was completely true.

"I'll fully admit I am sad to see Turok didn't make it," my dad continued to speak, "I can at least take solace in the fact that he was able to get you here. I owed him for all the times he saved me, but now I owe him for saving my child." I heard him give out a chuckle, "He always did have a way of being a hero…"

Even I couldn't disagree with that. If it wasn't for Turok, we wouldn't have made it here to begin with. He inspired me, and I was capable of making it past my own weakness thanks to him. I doubt any ceremony we could put together could honor him enough in my eyes.

But even so, we have to move forward. If this journey has taught me anything, that would be it.

"I have so much stuff to tell you about the journey," I said, "But before anything, I want you to meet some friends of mine." He shot me a confused look, before saying "Friends? Did you meet some dinos on the journey here?"

"Yup," I replied, "They were with me the whole way. You'll really like them!"

Before I could explain further, I heard the voice of a familiar threehorn calling for me. "Troy," she said, "Let's go play! It's been too long since we've done that." And it was clear that dad was confused (makes sense, since me and Cera were constantly annoyed by each other before), so I figured that introducing them would be the quickest way to fix the issue.

"Dad, these are my friends," I told him as the others began to approach. "I met them over the journey, and they've stuck by me every step of the way." _'With the exception of a small step,'_ I added mentally, _'But I choose to omit that.'_

It was clear by my dad's expression that he was shocked, and not for no reason. "Over the journey," he said, surprised at the group of us, "You were able to make friends with this group? I'm amazed…"

"Yup. It was because of them that I made it back. They gave me what I needed.

"A friend?"

"No. Something to fight for."

If dad wasn't surprised by this before, he sure was now. But not exactly for the reasons I imagined. "Wow," he started, and then quietly said "That's amazingly mature for your age. I'm proud of you, son." To that, I smiled, that same feeling of confidence running through me.

"Troy," I heard Cera say from behind me, "C'mon. We should celebrate. Let's play some games."

And I personally felt like I couldn't disagree. We just defeated a very great threat, and saved who knows how many of our own. We deserve a bit of a break from all this excitement. And judging by the smile my dad was wearing, I'd wager he agrees.

So, without another word, I headed out with my friends, and we headed out to see what could be done. We now had a whole new valley to explore, and could do virtually anything if we could find it. We were free to explore, and play, and live happily. Things that have been a given for the past five years.

To sum it up, we were basically free, and capable to live without fear. It was genuinely exciting.

And now, to top it all off, I myself was finally in-tune with my more heroic side…

I know that things could still be bad, but I was glad that we could now say this truth:

"We've made it!"

* * *

 **And there you go. Sorry if this chapter isn't very impressive. I'm a little rusty at writing LBT stuff.**

 **Even so, the observant ones may notice that I labeled this as 'final chapter'. Now, that doesn't mean this is the end for Troy just yet. Next month, I will have one last thing to write for this little Threehorn, and then we'll see what happens from there. But for now, I leave you with a somewhat ending, that is not the end just yet. I still have a few loose ends to tie, which will happen next chapter.**

 **Until next time!**


	19. Epilogue

**And here it is. The TRUE final chapter of 'Troy'.**

 **Now, before I begin, I want to say thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story. I know it has been a hectic time, due to my horrible upload schedule, but I would like to thank those of you who have put up with my BS.**

 **And also, I would like to say that I will not be ending my work in LBT, but I have no intent to start a new fic for at least a while. I need to get to work on lightening my work load some. That being said, I still have intent to update the stories as much as I can. I will write every chance I get, and hopefully, the stories I have will progress some more.**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, I think I shall answer some reviews:**

 **AllegroGiocoso: Thanks for the input. And yes, I can agree that the last chapter felt kinda rushed, and the pacing may have been pretty bad, but the end result was still okay. And plus, I don't remember, but I may or may not have been sleep deprived when writing that chapter. But regardless, I am glad that you enjoyed it, and I hope that others enjoy what I have planned for the future.**

 **Hunter: Well, there's a name I haven't seen in forever. Anyway, not to sound rude or anything, but I don't really care who the original Turok was. I just chose the name because I remember a review saying they wanted the Human vs Threehorn scene to be more like Turok, and I thought he meant for a name or whatever. So, I just decided on that name, and the rest is history.**

 **Shiningheart of Thunderclan: First off, love your name. Second, I suppose I could see that. And I am a fan of that same trope. Along with that, your shipping of it is completely okay, 1: Because I have no idea what imma do with Troy (I might make a series of it, or I might end it here), and 2: Because you're entitled to your opinion. I may be a devout Littlefoot x Cera shipper, but I respect other people's right to ship what they ship, and I dunno what's going to happen with this story/stories. So maybe it will be a thing, or maybe it won't. I dunno.**

* * *

It has been a month since the defeat of Sharptooth, and my group being reunited with their families. And I think it is safe to say I could not be happier.

If you had asked me a month ago, I would have told you could not fathom something like not having to constantly stay ahead of the predators. But now, I would tell you that we were blessed. And it would be the truth...

This Valley was definitely a paradise in every sense of the word, and one that gave us the freedom to be friends. No longer were we 'bound by the Species Barrier' (as my dad put it), and that meant I had every opportunity to find my own way, rather than grow up to be a grumpy old bigoted Threehorn.

And that's not even the half of what makes it so beautiful. I also have the added bonus of new memories.

Or rather, new OLD memories.

I discovered this recently, but after having a talk with my human self, I was given specific memories from back when I was that human that I was. And there was just something about it that made me unable to believe it...

Along with being able to remember my strong moments, I remember my weaker moments. A few days after becoming a Threehorn, I have memories of seeing my corpse. Back then, I was nowhere near as accepting of my fate as I am now.

Memories of nights spent crying, and mornings spent dreading the possibility of having to find the corpse again, all flooded my mind, and I've had time to reflect on them. It was certainly an experience that I can say I wouldn't pass up if I knew what it offered me.

But that was weeks ago, and now, I had a much more important event happening.

It's about midnight in the Valley, and I was getting the distinct feeling that I needed to be somewhere else. Helping this was probably the fact that I thought I heard a voice when I awoke again. It was one that felt undeniably familiar, like a voice I had heard a million times over. And for these reasons, I was inclined to follow it.

So, I began to wander, until I heard the voice again:

 _ **"Troy... head to the Great Wall,"**_ The voice said, strong and commanding, _**"We shall meet with you there..."**_ Before it faded again, leaving me with only that to go off of.

So, to the Great Wall I headed.

It took me at least a good half-hour to get to the wall, and when I did, I heard the voice again, getting some inkling into who it was:

 _ **"Excellent,"**_ The voice said, _**"Your next challenge is to scale the wall. We shall see you when you rise to that challenge..."**_

Okay, now I was sure who it was. Not only did I know that no-one was around, but I only knew one person to say things like they were challenges. And if my previous experiences with the supernatural were anything to go by...

I was going to want to climb this cliff.

So, I spent another half-hour or so scaling the Great Wall. It was a long and tedious process, but I knew for a fact that this was something I would need to do. So, I stuck to it, without any hesitation.

And I'd say what happened was a worthwhile experience.

When I finally got to the top of the wall, I saw the cloudy skies, and the bright clouds in those skies. A jolt of pain ran through my mind when I saw it, but I knew that could only be a good sign. I waited patiently to see if the voice would return...

 _ **"The challenge is complete..."**_

And my patience was rewarded.

Within a few moments of hearing the voices, the clouds began to form together, like that of what they did last month, when we were guided that last step to the Valley. I had a feeling I knew exactly what this was.

The clouds formed into the shapes of two Threehorns, and looked down to me, before deciding to speak. And with their first words, my suspicions were confirmed:

 _ **"It's been a while,"**_ The first voice said, calm and confident, _**"And you seem to be adjusting very well."**_ And now I knew I'd recognized that voice. There was no doubt that was Turok's voice!

"Things are going great, Turok," I told him, happy to have this chance to talk with him, "I never thought the Valley would be this amazing!"

I couldn't see it, but I was fairly certain that Turok had a big smile on his face, at hearing that. But where he was happy, I could tell the other was a bit somber.

 _ **"It's great to see that you have adjusted so well,"**_ The other (who I had to assume was Tyrus) said, his voice cold, but at the same time, warm to hear, _**"When you were first changed, I worried that you would not be able to handle it."**_

My arrogant side wanted to scoff, and tell him there was nothing I couldn't handle. But I knew they didn't drag me to the top of this wall for me to brag. But when he referenced my transformation, a question hit me:

"Well, I have been wondering about that. How'd you do that in the first place?"

I heard a chuckle, before Tyrus decided to speak again. _**"I myself had nothing to do with that event,"**_ He told me, _**"But I knew for a fact that something important was going to happen. The world works in mysterious ways, but I was certain that this was destined in a way."**_

This is the point where I would have questioned his logic, had I not been there myself. What he said was pretty much true. I wasn't sure about it myself, but the fact is that my body just gave out, and next thing I knew, I was in the body of a Threehorn...

It was impossible to deny. And that's coming from a guy who doesn't believe in destiny.

"Well, whatever the case," I said, "I'm glad the world worked out in my favor. I'm glad I got this chance."

With that line, both of them went silent for a brief moment, before Turok spoke. _**"That's actually the reason we called upon you,"**_ he told me, _**"We don't know why, but something is telling us, that you can get a second chance at your old life."**_

 _ **"Indeed,"**_ Tyrus continued, _**"We have been told that you have a chance at a quest. And if you take it... you can return back to where you came from."**_

'From where I came from'? Do they mean...

 _ **"Troy, do you wish to return to your life as a hunter?"**_

And there it was... The big question. A question that I had never considered, because it was something I considered impossible. Yet here I was, being told I might actually be able to return to being a Human. But when they asked me it, that brought up another question:

 _'Do I even want to return...?'_

Based on what I remembered about myself, I lived a life where I was bored. All I did was nothing but get into the occasional fight. It was a boring life, where I desperately wanted things to happen.

 _'And then, I ran into that stone... And...'_

A jolt ran through my mind, as I remembered something that I said:

 _'Man, I wish I could just leave this place. Go on an adventure or something.'_

A low chuckle escaped my mouth, as I realized what had happened...

I'd asked for this...

The whole reason I came her was because of my desire for an adventure. My first death, my second death, and everything that has happened up to this point, has been because I wanted this. And that raised one last question:

 _'Would I go back and change this?'_

Without hesitation, the answer that came to mind was an immediate and resounding 'Hell no'!

"I appreciate the offer," I told them both, "But I'll have to decline. There is no way I'm going back to being a hunter." It was clear that answer shocked them both. _**"If you don't mind me asking,"**_ Tyrus requested, _**"What makes you so sure? I have seen some of your earliest moments, and heard how you wished to return to that. Even as you were close to the Valley, you had the occasional thought."**_

That was true. During the night before Sharptooth attacked, and we found the Rock that looks like a Longneck, I had a dream of what things were like back before I became a Threehorn. It was a saddening dream, but I was able to force it out of my mind before I woke up.

And now, I realize that I was looking back at it through rose-colored glasses.

"Well, that was in the past," I told them, "I have no reason to want to go back. Everything I like is here."

 _ **"But I thought you needed to go back, and return to the things you enjoyed."**_

"I WANTED to," I had to correct, "But I never needed to. I don't need all the things I had back then... but I need them."

I was sure that they knew who I was referring to when I said I needed them, because they both gave me a warm smile. _**"I can't disagree with such an argument,"**_ Turok said, _**"I just figured we should warn you about the chance."**_

"Well, thanks. But I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world."

 _ **"And despite everything that has happened,"**_ Tyrus said, _**"We are glad you made it to the Valley. And we are glad that you are happy. Good luck Troy."**_ And as they both started to fade, I heard Turok say _**"Just remember to listen to your heart. It whispers, so pay damn good attention."**_

Those were the last words I heard from them, and they were the ones that had the most impact. I had only one thing to say towards that, and that is "Can do."

With nothing left to do, and the night hours dwindling, I started my descent down the wall, with intent to get back to the nest. I had done everything that I needed to do for tonight, so I wanted to be sure I was strong for tomorrow.

I do have a herd to take care of, after all.

* * *

 **So this was quite an enjoyable update. I got everything I needed out of this chapter, to set this as the perfect ending chapter for me.**

 **I have ended this story on exactly the note I wanted it to end on. And now, I have one project done, thus lightening my work load a little (but knowing me, for every project I end, two more will begin. I'm like a hydra.), and allowing me to move forward on thinking of what I next want to do for 'Land Before Time'. As I said above, I have no intent to start something new for some time, but I hope to continue my work in this community, so we'll see what happens. If there's enough demand for another LBT Story from me, I might make a poll, on what my next project should be.**

 **We'll see. But for now, I am going to take a break, and go enjoy my Summer Vacation.**

 **Gusto out!**


End file.
